FY: Winter Snow
by kiiroyuri
Summary: So, someone's been hiding all this time, watching over Team 7. Who could it be? SasuOC
1. Snow Comes

Disclaimer: Naruto belongs to Kishimoto Masashi, contents of the following text only serve entertainment purposes.

**!!Warning!!** MarySueOC and mild swearing in some chapters. (I'm only going to put this up _twice_)

AN: This chapter has been re-edited.

This chapter: A child is born by the match between two great clans of the Fire Country. How will her existence affect Konoha?

**Chapter: Snow Comes**

A heart-wrenching cry was heard, shattering the cool silence of the night. The moon, winking at the Konoha borders, revealed a child, roughly more than a year old, perhaps a little older. It was crying. Crying for what, the stars wondered. Where were its parents? Not a minute since the babe started crying did several chuunins on the watch start gathering. A handful of anbus silently watched from the distance, unseen by the other ninjas. What irresponsible parent left the child unprotected in the middle of the night? It wasn't a safe time either. There was an attack waiting to happen, a battle about to break out. No matter what the excuse, how could anyone simply _abandon_ children? ... Unless... the babe's parents were dead and there were no other relatives. ... But why the forest...?

Two of the chuunins disappeared, probably going off to find the Hokage. One of the female chuunins picked the child up, cradled it, softly cooing in an attempt to quiet down the child. It worked, a little. The child was no longer wailing but sobbing in large hiccups. The chuunin started singing a lullaby as she held the child closer. That seemed to worked much better, and not long after that the child fell asleep once more.

"Hokage-sama," one of the chuunins hissed as their leader arrived.

"What are you all doing here? You've left the borders unprotected," he reprimanded before looking into the problem. After a quick salute, they left to their original positions. Only the female chuunin was left. She gave the child to the Hokage before saluting and then disappearing herself. Leaving the surroundings to the silence it had enjoyed only minutes before when the child had been asleep.

"Hokage-sensei," said an anbu officer, announcing his presence as he appeared by the Hokage's side, peeking over his shoulder to the child.

"Kakashi-kun. Do you know who left this child here?"

"No, my apologies Hokage-sensei. The child must have been sleeping earlier and we didn't notice it till it started crying. The child could have been there all day for all we know. There aren't any traces of anyone having gone to or from this place either."

"Hn..." The blonde man was peering at the bundle in his arms. The child was sleeping peacefully now, so he couldn't see the color of its eyes, but its hair was a dark purple. "This child will stay with me until we find out who its parents are."

"Yes, sir. I will resume my patrol now."

"Kakashi-kun?"

"Everything's quiet, Hokage-sensei. Nothing to worry about," the anbu officer said without turning back.

"Well then." The blonde man turned to look at the child again. "Who are you?" he mumbled.

No parents came to claim her, the female child with red eyes and dark hair. Nothing could be found of her heritage, although she was obviously an... Uchiha, or so they thought. She was practically inexistent to those outside the Hokage's home. Her presence only known by two Hokages of the village, the 3rd and the 4th as well as the anbu officer, Kakashi, that had, oddly, gone to him to check up on her from time to time. Even the chuuninS that had first found her forgot about the incident, thinking that she'd already been returned to her parents. Besides, the coming battle wasn't anything to be underestimated. They needed to focus all their attention on it.

Many nights later, it erupted. The battle had begun. The nine-tailed demon fox, Kyuubi, began attacking the village. There was no way to stop it. No way to kill it. No way out of it except to surrender. Resistance was futile. There were many casualties. Too many. Was there any way out of it?

The child, hereafter named Fuyu Yuki, by the 4th - her new adoptive father, was peacefully snuggling up to her crib-mate. The 4th's son. He had shocking blonde hair, an extraordinary characteristic for a person to have been born to a ninja family. Ninjas normally had dark physical characteristics. Naruto defied the convention... his father did too. At the moment the two children were sleeping, undisturbed by the agonized cries outside the house.

"You will die soon if you don't conserve your energy," the 3rd admonished as the 4th stumbled on the steps of his home. The 3rd had been injured earlier in the battle and could do nothing but wait till he could regain the full use of his chakra.

"I want to see my son," he said stubbornly. "And Yuki too. And I don't care if I die, as long as I can see with my own eyes that both of them will be able to live a happy life." If possible, Naruto's father had grown as fond of Yuki as he was with Naruto during the previously peaceful days.

"What are you planning to do?"

"We can't kill him. We can't even injure him long enough to trap him. There's only one way. I'll have to seal him in my body."

"Seal him inside you while you're in this state and you'll die. You die and he'll escape. It'll be hell all over again. Isn't there any other way?"

"I'm sorry. I have to do this on my own," the man said gruffly as he escaped the other man's stares and disappeared. The two children disappeared as well.

Outside, on the battle field, the 4th summoned Gamabunta and ordered him to protect the two children as he prepared the seal for the evil fox. He knew the act was going to kill him, but he did it anyway.

"I'm sorry, Naruto-chan. Forgive me for doing this to you, but I need your help," he whispered to his son. There were screams outside. The 4th winced at the thought of more casualties. There was little time left. "Yuki-chan. You'll help him, won't you? Goodbye."

It was a long and painful process, but the 4th managed to get a hold of the Kyuubi and sealed him. Not to himself, but to his sleeping son. The 3rd arrived just as he accomplished that.

"Goodbye," the father gasped as the soul-reaper he summoned to help seal the Kyuubi, took his soul away. He was dead in an instant. Not even giving enough time for everyone to understand what had just happened, and in the ensuing chaos Naruto started crying. Sensing the distress of her young friend, Yuki started crying too.

Naruto was in pain. He couldn't handle the presence of the Kyuubi inside him. It was practically eating up his insides. Three angry lines on each side of his face appeared. His skin cracked and blood started gushing out following the beatings of his heart.

"No..." The victory was short lived. The Kyuubi was going to come out. Amidst the confusion of the sudden end of battle, only the 3rd noticed - but at his current state, he was helpless to do anything.

Something had to be done. And the most astonishing thing happened.

Yuki, through her tears - she'd known that her dear friend was in pain, crawled slowly to Naruto's side, emitting an eerie blue light and then lying her head over his chest. One hand on the seal and another on his forehead. The blood stopped flowing from his cheeks and the wound started sizzling. It was being closed, but the wound couldn't be completely healed. Its presence would forever be on his face. But it was enough. The child was calm again. Yuki had helped him get control over the unwanted spiritual presence of the fox inside his body. The Kyuubi itself was beginning to calm down. Yuki laid there, still emitting the light, but was hopelessly unable to stop sleep from taking over her body. As she slowly trailed off to sleep, the Hokage lifted her off Naruto and placed her beside him, her hand still on the seal on his stomach.

"The Kyuubi has been sealed," he murmured, a tear flowing unchecked on his wrinkled face. "Naruto saved us. He and Yuki saved us. The village is safe," he ended the statement in a dull tone. Hundreds of ninjas were dead. Half the village was destroyed. Their leader was dead. "From now on will be a time for reconstruction. Konoha will be safe again. Your son will be safe. Yuki will be safe. I'll make sure of that."


	2. Caught

Disclaimer: Naruto belongs to Kishimoto Masashi, contents of the following text only serve entertainment purposes.

**!Warning! **MarySue and mild swearing in some chapters.

AN: This chapter has been re-edited.

NB: katana: japanese long sword, kunai: something like a dagger, shuriken: those sharp-edged stars ninjas throw

The rest of the story takes off when they are 17-18 years old.

This chapter: Hatake Fuyu Yuki is in charge of watching over Team 7. Finally, after all those years, the wall that has concealed her existence begins to crack.

**Chapter: Caught**

**"Really**, Naruto-kun's so temperamental," Yuki thought to herself, jumping for tree to tree to try keeping up with the blonde's pace. Something got him hyped up again. Hyper as in angry-hyper. Shecouldn't stop herself from sighingtiredly. "Not Uchiha again." She was getting increasingly irritated about the whole situation. Hatake Kakashi's team had been sent off for another mission: B-class this time, the Hokage mentioned something about it teetering towards A-class or something like that, and that they were to head south of the Leaf country.

"Sasuke, you bastard!" Naruto was screaming. "How dare you save me again!" The smirking Uchiha tilted his head a bit and coolly walked past him.

"Dunce," he said. As predictable as it was, Naruto started cursing theraven haired youthyet again. "If you weren't such a klutz, I wouldn't have had to save you so many times." Two veins popped on Naruto's head. Yuki felt like banging her head to a tree at the utterlyunamusingly exasperating andpredictable result. Naruto had risen to the bait again and was colorfully cursing the brunette before catching up with him and then trying to out-pace him.

"And there they go challenging each other again," she thought, gritting her teeth. "While Kakashi-niichan and Haruno-san stay behind and conserve their own energy. Smart." Naruto and Sasuke had gone so far down the road that they were almost out of sight. "Honestly, why did I have to get stuck watching _this_ squad? Of all the letdowns." But she knew why. Oh, she knew too well. And, if given a choice, she wouldn't have changed this squad to watch over another for the world. Her complaining was her own way of coping with the monotony. After all, this squad barely needed anyone watching over them and it did get dreary most of the time.

"If you two don't come back here..." Kakashi said warningly. In a millisecond, they were back where they were, Naruto growling at Sasuke's back and Sasuke, with his glare, taking a leisurely pace and was leading the way.

"Why do we all have to do this mission anyway? If they'd just sent _only me_, I'd've been able to handle it! No problem!" Naruto boasted. Sakura punched his head from behind and they all stopped walking to watch Naruto wail and rub his head.

"Shut up _Naruto_..." Eep. Sakura had flames instead of pupils in her eyes. Yuki was roughly rubbing her head with a sheepish albeit cheerful expression carefully put on her face.

"It's time for lunch!" Naruto exclaimed happily as he started bouncing up and down along the road, ignoring the surprised look on Sakura's face.

"You dunce. There's still an hour left till midday," Sasuke said icily.

"Asshole!" There they go again. Yuri was virtually crying about the predicament she was trapped in. Not that the drama wasn't interesting enough with all it's colorful curses and hilarious accidents which, unluckily enough, all happen to Naruto - but she'd been watching this 'show' everyday since god-knows-when. The repetitive reruns were a danger to her sanity.

**Days **later...

"Sasuke!" Did they never stop? Naruto was jumping angrily in Sasuke's direction now. It was cute how Naruto always riled up against Sasuke, but it was getting too predictable.

3... 2... 1...

A loud thump indicated that Naruto's 'attack' went off the mark and he'd fallen to the ground.

"Dunce," Sasuke said indifferently as he started to tell him off on where he went wrong in the shortest sentence possible. Yuki's spirits were drowning with each passing second. Nothing had happened so far, and she wasn't sure that anything at all would ever actually happen to them on their trip. Barely anything ever did. Frankly, she'd been assigned to watch over their squad so many times that she knew for a fact that it wasn't necessary for _anyone_ to watch their backs. Least of all an anbu. Of course, the Hokage just had to refute that argument by telling her that if their abilities were so good, then they should've been able to, at one point, pick up her presence - which they hadn't. Up to now, only Kakashi noticed when she was around - but then that was partly because he'd known that she was supposed to be there anyway, being an anbu so long ago himself. So Yuki had no choice but to plough on.

It was a double edged sword. If her presence was known to plain chuunins, that would show that her stealth skills were deteriorating. On the other hand, if it were not known, it meant that the chuunin bunch she had to watch over remained as the bunch she had to watch over. Yuki sighed heavily. It was going to be a long mission. By now, Sakura would've punched Naruto on the head. With a quick glance in their direction, she found that it was true.

But something was different. Kakashi had just made a shadow clone of himself while their attention was diverted and it was moving stealthily towards her direction. What could he possibly want?

"Kakashi-niichan?" she murmured ever so silently as she moved to meet up with the clone without getting too close to the group.

"Yuki-chan?" he hissed as he jumped to the high branch that she was at. Yuki looked up to the familiar face of her adoptive brother. He had an unreadable expression on his face. "Are you alright? I noticed that you were lagging back."

"Oh," she whispered, blushing behind her anbu mask. Thank goodness that he couldn't see her blush. "I... uh... I got tired of listening to Naruto-kun and Uchiha-san." It was puzzling how Yuki could call Naruto so affectionately and Uchiha Sasuke with such formality. Of course, it must've been that incident... Kakashi mentally sighed at a memory of her childhood. "How _can_ you stand that? To think you actually have to deal with them almost everyday."

"Well, it has been years..." his voice trailed off as both their attentions snapped back to the group. "Did you see that?"

"I did," Yuki said as she moved to separate herself from the talking clone. As the clone disappeared, she jumped cautiously from branch to branch to as close as she could get to the group.

There it was again. A shadow passing somewhere in the clump of trees just beyond. Some shadows. She couldn't distinguish just how many there were. It didn't look good.

"Hey, Sasuke-kun, have you checked if your holster is properly packed?" Sakura asked sweetly as they started walking again. "I could do it for you if you want..." Yuki would've rolled her eyes at the typical Sakura's-obsession-with-Sasuke statement, but in truth, it was a code. A code... _Can you sense an enemy nearby?_

"Yes, I did," Sasuke answered indifferently as he quickened his pace. His affirmative answer indicated that he knew _there was danger coming._

"What about me, Sakura-chan?" Naruto asked eagerly. "Will you help me with it?" Now it seemed like another typical Naruto's-going-to-get-pounded conversation. _Could you tell me from what direction you sense it from?_

"As if!" Sakura exclaimed turning her nose up to a little on her left side, then fully to her left. _To our left, and there was more than one_. Yuki was practically laughing at their ingenuity. Who would've thought? And who would have ever noticed? If she hadn't been let in on the secret by Kakashi, she probably wouldn't have known it herself!

"Quiet down, Naruto," their instructor said, making the blonde boy step into his pace. Sasuke was still leading the way and Sakura was walking in the middle. _Keep your senses alert._

"Hey Kakashi-sensei, are we going to catch our food for tonight?" _Do we attack them now?_

"Let's just wait till later. It's still early," Kakashi answered, looking bored. _Wait till we know what they want._

"Naruto-kun's just going to get hungrier by later and he'll be tempted to catch more," Sakura teased with a lighter tone. _There might be more coming._

"Dunce," Sasuke muttered under his breath, getting Naruto to start swearing at him again.

"That's enough! Naruto-kun! Could you stop picking fights with Sasuke-kun!" Sakura practically screamed, looking thoroughly aggravated. Their sensei visibly sighed and stopped walking. _Might as well get it done and over with._ Yuki was practically shaking with laughter on her perch. She knew what was going to happen next. It was all too predictable. Granted, it didn't happen much, but it was always entertaining to watch.

Two fast-flying shurikens suddenly made its way to Kakashi's back and he disappeared with a poof, leaving a scarred log behind him. The replacement skill - Kakashi managed to replace himself a log to intercept the attack in his position. Suddenly, a katana came flying at them, with a body to go with it. Everyone but Naruto reacted swiftly by jumping off to the side both to avoid being hit and to hide. Naruto turned around to see what was going on and then brought his two hands swiftly in front of his face, trapping the katana in between the backs of his palms. Right before the katana could slice him in half.

"Wh-What!" Naruto bellowed in surprise as he reflexively twisted his arm around the katana, dislodging the attacker's grip on it and threw it to the side. Yuki nearly fell from the tree as laughter threatened to take over her body.

Actually, Naruto had gone along with the conversation _not_ because he had understood the code but because the trail of the conversation was basically second nature to him. It was hilarious! Of course, it was dangerous too, but Naruto was always one with the quickest reflexes when it came to battles, so whether or not he'd picked up on the code didn't matter much.

The attacker looked surprised at Naruto's quick reflex action, but wasted no time, he jumped a few feet back and got ready with an attacking stance. Naruto took few steps back too and copied his stance. In an instant, he was gone, Naruto made no hesitation in performing the replacement skill, similar to Kakashi's earlier move in order to disappear on the foliage that was above him. A hit connected to the side of 'Naruto'-the log, and his image disappeared in a poof. It all happened so quickly Naruto jumped down to where the hit had come from and tackled the man roughly to the ground. Swiftly taking a kunai out from his holster, he stilled the man's position and held the sharp edge of the kunai, tip to his throat.

"Naruto, you idiot!" Sakura half-yelled as she stepped out from her hiding place. Naruto nearly lost his hold on the man but managed to keep the appearance of being in control. What did Sakura think she was doing? Jumping out of her hiding place like that. Immediately, she was captured by another assailant and was pulled down to the ground. Yuki stopped smirking. Didn't she already know that there were more than one assailants? ...

And where was Uchiha? Where was Kakashi-niichan? Muffles from a nearby bush answered her question. Quickly, she moved away before being discovered. As she moved, she saw the situation that the two other exceptional ninjas were in. They were both trapped in an icy bubble. It looked like an unbreakable trap. It didn't look good. Not good at all.

"Let my friend go, and you'll have this girl back," sneered the enemy that had captured Sakura. Yuki turned her attention back to that group. They were in more danger of getting themselves killed than the Uchiha and the jounin. Naruto was gritting his teeth. And sweating.

Roughly pulling up the first attacker, he threw him to his friend to unbalance him, giving Sakura the chance to escape to Naruto's side.

"Naruto-kun!" she said in a high-pitched voice as she reached his side. "Thank you."

"Never mind that. Where are Sasuke and Kakashi-sensei?" he asked, narrowing his eyes. Yuki looked back to where Kakashi and Sasuke were. They were still trapped. Assessing the situation, she thought that it would be best to intervene this time, and it'd be better to help them get out of the bubble first. Kakashi-niichan could think up some excuse for their 'sudden' release and then help Naruto-kun and Haruno. On her other side, Sakura shrieked. Since Yuki was going in the opposite direction, she thought it best to turn on her byakugan. Timing was critical, and she had to quickly choose who to save first. This little trip to the forest was very quickly going out of hand.

Focusing a controlled amount of chakra to her eyes, it turned on, giving her an all-directional vision, save for the blind spots, but that could be helped. She let the main of her attention focused on to the helplessly trapped pair though.

She mentally counted the number of enemies there were around them. Two at Naruto's direction. Three... no, four holding up the icy bubble and... one... two... th- no. Only two hiding. Eight rogue ninjas trying to attack them all in one go. Yuki saw Kakashi's hands come up to his chest level to perform a seal. Instantly her sharingan turned on as well. The sudden unconscious action started a torturous pounding in her temples. She tried her best to stop a gasp from escaping, and while doing so nearly fell off her perch. The pain was blinding... but nothing she hadn't experienced before. Time was most definitely against her now. She couldn't keep both the bloodlimits fuctioning at the same time for too long. Not long at all. She had to move quickly.

Kakashi made a second seal, grabbing her attention once again. A third and then seemed to have said something, judging from the bubbles his breath was making. But nothing happened. What were those seals for? Yuki took in a deep breath and then slowly turned off her byakugan. The byakugan was one matter, the sharingan another. But to have both of it turned on for too long was purely suicidal. She focused her attention on her back before reassuring herself that it would be alright to exchange the byakugan for the sharingan in order to copy Kakashi's technique. Already he was wildly looking around him, looking as if he were searching for more enemies but was really, from Yuki's own judgement, looking for her. Even he knew that he was trapped. Utterly unable to release himself. It was similar to the situation that had met the team during their first C-class mission - that one memorable first incident with Zabuza. But that was another matter. It wasn't water this time, it was ice. And it wasn't one enemy this time. There were eight.

Sakura and Naruto were fighting the two enemies. They were physically able so it was relatively safe and alright for Yuki to leave her focusfrom them. Closing her eyes and then taking in a deep breath, she put her hand to the level of her stomach. She opened her eyes and looked directly at Kakashi, who had, by pure luck, managed to catch her eye. Kakashi brought his hands up to try the seal again. He was telling Sasuke to do something just as she performed the first seal. Then came the second... and the third. Suddenly she knew just what to do.

Kakashi brought to finger in front of his clothed mouth and blew through it, and Yuki did the same. Wisps of white vapour shot out of her mouth, similar to the the infamous Uchiha fire skill, only instead of fire, there was ice. It made the already hard icy bubble even harder. It became much more brittle than it originally was. Amidst the confusion among the enemies, Sasuke brought his arm back and then focused all his chakra to his fist as he brought it down to the ice. It made a crack. Sasuke then brought down his other arm on it and it cracked even more. Yuki released the ice-skill and waited a second for the pair to completely break the ice. A little 'pop' sound indicated just so just as she tucked away her sharingan and headed over to the other two. They were handling everything much better. The sound of cracking ribs from the other end reassured her that everything was going to be alright.

Then everything went dark.

"We captured one of them!" said one gleefully next to her ear. Shit... that was so... idiotic. In her concentration of the safety of the team, she forgot the presence of the two other hidden rogues. Stupid. Stupid. Yuki took out a kunai and ripped herself out of the trap and threw two well-aimed shuriken to their throats. The move worked perfectly. Now it was time to dispose of the bodies. They shouldn't know that she was there, after all, she was an anbu. A really stupid anbu that had misjudged the situation and nearly got herself caught. That was really stupid of her. What was wrong with her today?

"Well that takes care of that!" she heard Naruto shout out triumphantly. Rustle. Rustle. Fuck. She was caught.

"Oh, damn!" Yuki screamed silently at herself. The body she was trying to disintegrate moved its hand in a reflex action. It was making too much noise. She was going to be discovered. Quickly bringing her hands up to a tiger seal, she concentrated all her energy to creating fire. It blew out of her mouth the same way her previous ice-skill did. She lowered the flame a little, just enough to make the body catch on fire and then hidit away behind the thick shrubs, performing a self-transformation skill just as Naruto came crashing down beside her. This time she really did scream - she was only halfway through her transformation.

There was a puff of smoke that enveloped her as she put away her sharingan eyes and her attire melt away to make new ones. She faced Naruto mask-less. Oh the stupidity that was her.

"Eh?" Naruto was startled, both by the appearance of a girl and the scream. Yuki, now sure that no trace of anbu gear was present, crawled to what she thought would be a relatively safe distance away. That ought to throw them off balance. She was to be the weak, unassuming girl. As Naruto looked at her curiously she made the transformation of her character complete by forcing all the blood from her face, making sure that the result would make her look like just any other terrified villager who was caught in the middle of battle. "Who are you?" Yuki jerked away and made herself frantically look around, as if looking for escape, hoping that her expression showed fear. It was working.Well, it wasn't as if she really didn't want to escape at all."I'm not going to hurt you. How did you get here?"

"Naruto-kun?" It was Sakura.

"Wait a minute, Sakura-chan!" he yelled right back. He looked curiously at her. She was... She reminded him of someone. Black hair, red eyes. Could she be an Uchiha? But... Uchihas had dark eyes, just like Sasuke. Could she be a relation to that jounin? That... Kurenai-sensei? She had dark hair and red eyes too. But... this girl did not look like a ninja. "There's some pretty evil people out there, I'd suggest you come with me and my friends," he said gently. Yuki turned her face to look back at him. "It's alright. I'm the great Uzumaki Naruto! The future Hokage of Konoha!" A bead of sweat trailed down Yuki's face. She decided to ignore the self-compliment and took his hand. A memory was nagging at the back of his mind, but, being unable to place it, he ignored it and started pulling her to the rest of the group. "Look who I found!"

Suddenly three pairs of eyes were on her and she focused her attention on getting all the blood away from her face so she could look even paler with fright. She could practically hear what Kakashi was thinking right then. What kind of anbu was she? To have gotten herself caught, of all circumstances. To 'transform' to her original form, of all transformations. To act weak... well, that was a good thing... maybe. Her abilities could be used as a trump card.

Sakura stepped forward and introduced herself, "I'm Haruno Sakura."

"H-Haruno-san," Yuki said timidly, acknowledging her. Sakura gave her a little smile.

"This is Uchiha Sasuke and Hatake Kakashi," she continued, pointing at the two men. Sasuke gave her a blank stare while Kakashi put a hand up in greeting. "We're ninjas of the Leaf, currently on a mission."

"O-okay," Yuki mumbled. "I'm Fuyu Yuki." Yuki left it at that and then blushed, looking down at her feet to show her timidity.

"Yuki-chan," Naruto began. Already so comfortable with her? ...But it feltokay somehow."How did you get here?"

"I... I don't remember," Yuki answered.

"Are you here alone?" Sasuke asked. Everyone turned to him, at the uncharacteristic nature of Sasuke. He was always the quiet one, wasn't he?

"Yes. I'm here alone, Uchiha-san," she said. She met the eyes of the Uchiha only to be met with a scowl. He turned away and started walking in the direction they were going just before they were interrupted with the fight.

"Where were you headed, Yuki-san?" Sakura asked.

"I'm lost," Yuki mumbled. It was getting so irritating! Why on earth had she chosen to be timid in this disguise! "I-I was on my way to Konoha."

"It's not safe here. Better if she follows us, right, Kakashi-sensei?" Naruto asked, jumping in his direction. Yuki momentarily forgot about her brother, Kakashi and at the mention of his name, she froze up. Was he going to be angry?

"Yes," the silver-haired jounin said simply. Yuki was about to thank them for their consideration when hen he told them to start following Sasuke, which they did.

Sakura took one side of Yuki, and Naruto the other. With Sasuke in front and Kakashi at the back, Yuki realized that they had actually put up a defense for her, whether they knew it or not. Yuki mentally recorded this observation to be sent back to the Hokage later on. She then sighed. It was going to be a long time before they could go back to Konoha.

"Sasuke, you jerk!" Naruto's voice snapped her out of her thoughts. She saw Naruto jumping in Sasuke's direction and sweatdropped. Yup. This was going to take a _long_ time...


	3. Kuma

Disclaimer: Naruto belongs to Kishimoto Masashi, contents of the following text only serve entertainment purposes.

AN: This chapter has been re-edited.

New:Kuma, a missing leaf-nin (OC)as well as the kaze no jutsu (kaze - wind).

This chapter: The curtain rises... show us your skills! Encounter the bear of the forest!

**Chapter: Kuma**

**"Noooooooooo!**" Naruto's voice could be heard echoing in the forest. Sakura dropped the firewood she was carrying and swiftly silenced him with a punch to the head.

"Oi! What are you thinking!" she hissed. "Don't make so much noise!" Yuki and Sasuke looked up from the tent they were pitching up together. It was dusk and about time to camp. Yuki rolled her eyes while Sasuke muttered a curse under his breath. Really, what didNaruto think he was doing?

"My forehead-protector!" Naruto bawled, tears shining in his eyes. "It's _gone_!" A bush started rustling near Yuki and Sasuke's position. Sasuke jumped to the girl's side and posed for an attack. Suddenly, an animal appeared. It was a raccoon! And it was wearing Naruto's forehead-protector! As quick as it came, it disappeared.

"Naruto-kun! An animal's got it! It's running in that direction!" Yuki called out while pointing towards where they'd just seen it.

"_What!_" he bellowed before running in that direction too. Sakura followed him closely behind as they disappeared into the forest.

"Oi oi... how troublesome," Kakashi said, very Shikamaru-like, appearing beside Yuki in a poof. Yuki barely even flinched, Sasuke noticed. "Well. I'm going after them to make sure they don't get lost. Sasuke, guard the camp."

"Yeah," Sasuke muttered as he straightened himself up. His mind was still on Yuki. Normally, people would jump at Kakashi's sudden appearance. But she didn't. Was she a ninja? Sasuke caught her rolling her eyes before going back to fixing up the tent. _She's so beautiful._ Yuki mentally berated herself for being expressive. She was so used to using the mask that she forgot that now, without it, others could read her expressions. They worked in companionable silence.

"That does it," Yuki murmured as they finished putting up the last tent. "Uchiha-san, I'll pick up the firewood that Haruno-san dropped."

"Sasuke." Yuki stopped walking and turned back to look at him. His expression was unreadable. Why did he just say his own name? "We'll be stuck together for a while and I don't like people calling me by my family name." It reminded him that he was related to the person that massacred his family - Itachi. Then again, he normally wouldn't've cared about what people called him. He was practically jumping out of his own skin at his own, personal, suggestion. He decided to divert the attention of the subject. "Sakura would probably warm up to you more if you call her by her own name too." Damn. That came out wrong too! He hoped that she wouldn't get the implications of the statement.

"Thank you," Yuki said as she returned her attention to the firewood. "Sasuke-san." Sasuke found himself fighting a losing battle on blushing. He grunted and then turned around so she couldn't see his face. What was this? How could she affect him so? Damn. If she could be just as annoying as Sakura instead of being so timid. It was almost like Hinata... but Sasuke wasn't into girls that could barely look at a guy's face.

Yuki felt the hairs on the back of her neck start to prickle and there was an ominous presence lingering in the shadows. _Not good._

"Yuki." Sasuke had called her. Yuki straightened, put the pile of firewood she'd just gathered near a hole on the ground that was to be used for a fire later in the night and then went to Sasuke's side.

"Sasuke-san?" Yuki asked, trying to put the surprise out of her voice when she realized that he was aware of the menacing presence in the shadows.

"Best not to be too far away from me," he mumbled to his bag as he squatted down, pretending to look for something in it. Sasuke winced at his statement again. It was getting too suggestive. What was it that his body knew that his mind refused to acknowledge? It couldn't be that he liked her! It couldn't be. It couldn't. Could it? Sasuke stilled his breathing as Yuki squatted down beside him, looking at him with her almond-shaped maroon eyes.

"What are you looking for, Sasuke-san?" she asked innocently. Sasuke grunted for a reply and then stood up. The thing... whatever it was that was emitting the intimidating vibes, was coming closer. Left or right? Up... North-East about 40 degrees North-wise. About 13 feet from the forest floor. The wind was picking up. Meanwhile, Yuki was several steps ahead. She sensed only one ninja coming in their direction. Male. Very strong. Carried weapons. What would be her plan of action? Would the Uchiha be able to handle it on his own? "Sasuke-san? I don't think we have enough firewood for tonight. Can we go look for some more?"

"Hn." Sasuke grunted as he fell into step next to her as they walked in an easterly direction. Sasuke kept his senses alert as the vibes faded in and out. Whoever it was, he or she wasn't concealing his/her own chakra well enough. Sasuke glanced to the young lady at his side and relaxed his muscles a bit. No sense getting her alarmed. Sasuke was dearly hoping that Yuki wasn't the type to start screaming and creating a hassle once being attacked. She screamed when Naruto appeared and found her a few days back. Then again, anybody would scream at the sight of that twerp. Sasuke snickered inwardly as he relaxed his pace as well.

They found a little clearing and stopped in it and started to gather the firewood. Yuki was practically sweating inside her shirt. She had her back to the Uchiha, who was only three feet away. How was she going to pull it off? She discovered that their opponent, if the hidden ninja decided to attack, was extremely powerful. Probably a jounin-level ninja. Or even higher. Could Sasuke handle it on his own? Sasuke was still only a chuunin, after all, even if he is the most powerful one - next to Naruto. What could she do to save him if the time came? She snapped a piece of wood she held in her hands as she mentally cursed her earlier mistake of being discovered. Sasuke looked over her shoulder inquiringly and then returned his attention back to his own pile, or rather, the person following them.

"What's this...?" came a sneer. "A leaf-nin and his girlfriend out for a little walk in the woods?" Finally, he was going to reveal himself. Yuki pretended to be shocked at his presence and scooted closer to Sasuke who -well, expected her to move closer, though he misunderstood her motives for doing so. "How cute. But I'm out for blood." In a swift move, Yuki was knocked off, her back pounded to a tree, making a loud cracking sound before she fell, face-down to the leafy floor. Sasuke's eyes widened at the suddenness of the attack. _Too fast!_ "Whoops."

"Who are you?" Sasuke snarled as he jumped beside Yuki's crumpled body to check her pulse. It was still beating rhythmically, though its speed had picked up.

"I'm alright, Sasuke-san," Yuki choked, lifting her head a little to the side. Though she looked injured on the outside she was boiling angry underneath her skin. "How dare he attack without warning!" she was growling in her mind. "I'll get back at him. I will. I'll make him pay for my rib. Fuck that bastard!"

"Stay where you are, Yuki," Sasuke said as he gently moved her to sit and lean on the tree her body had just collided with.

"Aw... how touching..." the arrogant man taunted. Sasuke snapped his head around. Yuki knew that he'd just turned on his sharingan, looking at the bewildered expression on the man's face. "Uchiha..." he snarled, taking a defensive position when he realized who his opponent was. "Lucky me. I didn't think I'd get the honor of killing an Uchiha in all my life."

"You thought right," Sasuke growled back as he jumped to the air and threw some shuriken at him. Of course, he dodged, but Sasuke only wanted to judge his speed. While the two men were focused on teasing each other in their fight, Yuki silently didused a skill to maketwo shadowclones of herself. One to transform into Kakashi and another to transform into an animal. 'Kakashi' hid on the branches of a tree while the animal left in search for the other three ninjas they'd gone to the forest with - the real Kakashi, Sakura and Naruto.

Yuki pretended to watch the fight with a dull but frightened expression on her face, but was completely aware of each bruise that was developing on Sasuke's body. The pain on her side didn't disturb her as much as when the ninja caught Sasuke on his face and had sent him to the ground. It took so much energy to keep her body from turning on her own sharingan at every jutsu they casted. She was, literally, getting tired of watching them because of her own energy being spent on keeping her body under tight control.

Racking the memory reserves in her mind, she tried to identify the ninja that was attacking Sasuke. It was definitely a missing leaf-nin, judging from his hitai-ate and his enmity for the Uchiha. One of his eyes was scarred, reminding her of her elder brother, but the scar was different. It ran all the way down to his chin. His fighting style followed the animal-type taijutsu, that is the bear. _Kuma_. It was Kuma. Kuma was spotted last on the Konoha borders, camping out, killing more wildlife than any one person could consume or even use. He was a danger to the ecosystem of southern Konoha. If he wanted to, he could've moved upward, but nearing the the Konoha village was a risky business for a missing-nin. Hunter-nins were everywhere. Where were they now?

"Oh? Tired already?" Sasuke's body was crumpled on the ground. The jounin was too much for him, as Yuki suspected, he didn't bring up the emotions that could strengthen Sasuke in a battle, the emotions sheknew, would have at least given Sasuke the awareness that he had been thus far acting so weak...-this state of unwillingness to displaypower was so vastly different that it was entirely opposite as fo if Sasukehad been exposed to someone like... someonelike Uchiha Itachi, but Sasuke would never acknowledge that. Moreover, Sasuke didn't even try to bring out his chidori. Good or bad? No matter which, Yuki still had to give him credit since already, he had begun to stand up, thoughshakily. "Some people just never learn." Yuki winced inwardly as Kuma landed a kick on Sasuke's chest, making him land on the ground once again. "Especially you stubborn, stuck up Uchihas." He punctuated each word with kicks to the stomach. Yuki felt absolutely terrified at Sasuke's vulnerability. At that last kick, he had sunk quietly into the earth. A cough, and then he passed out. Kuma had hit a vital spot.

**Sasuke** woke up in a sitting position, his back supported by something, and someone hugging him from the side. He found his leg lying near a buttress root. He was near a tree. Raising his gaze a little, he saw a body, on the other side of the clearing, kunai to its throat, its head facing the other way, but he knew. That ninja he was just fighting, was dead. _Yuki!_

"Sasuke-kun?" Sasuke jolted away at the sound of the soft voice, and warm breath near his ear. He blushed at the term, so close to endearment and yet... "I'm so glad you're awake."

"Yuki... did you kill him?" Sasuke's voice turned cold. He was shocked at himself. How could he just pass out like that...? Nothing like that had happened since... since he had fought Itachi. Did he really pass out? Was he really that weak? Was that shinobi even stronger than Uchiha Itachi? It couldn't be. Maybe he had just gotten weaker... _damn_...

"I did, Sasuke-kun." Kakashi's face popped up in front of him. Sasuke couldn't stop himself from blushing. "Oh, not to worry about it. I won't tell the others," he said, correctly reading his mind. Kakashi then stood up and walked away from them, away from their view. Yuki made sure that her clone was a safe distance away before making it disappear.

"Sorry," Sasuke mumbled. Yuki looked at his blushing face in surprise. "I couldn't protect you."

"Don't mind it," Yuki said as she let go of him, brushing off the blush that almost creeped up her face."Are you injured?"

"You broke a rib, didn't you?" Sasuke asked when he noticed her clutching her side.

"No, not really. It'll bruise for a while, though," she said, lying through her teeth. "I have some medicinal herbs with me, if you'll let me..."

"Okay," Sasuke agreed, nodding as he leaned back. He was sitting on some roots of a tree. Yuki was startled at his compliance. In all those years that she'd been 'tailing' them, she'd never heard Sasuke willingly accept help. In all honesty, he never really needed all of it, but this time... Well, at least he didn't run away from her. She did her work in silence, ignoring the spasms of pain that threatened to consume her mind.

"_Sasuke_!" They both looked up at Naruto's yell that came from the direction of the camp. Yuki heard another yell and smiled. "_Yuki-chan_!"

"We should tell them where we are," Yuki said, bringing a hand forward to a one-handed seal. "Kaze no jutsu." A gust of wind started from their position, from where Yuki was blowing air through her mouth, heading to the camp. "We're here!" she exclaimed, raising her voice a little, letting the wind carry up the rest. Sasuke was staring at her.

"You can do ninja skills," he said in an emotionless tone. Yuki smiled. He must be suspicious. She only used one hand to create a seal. If that wasn't suspicious, what could be?

"Yes, I can," she said gently, not offering any more information than that as she stood up. Sasuke stood up, grateful that she hadn't offered to help him stand. He was tempted to accept if she did, but it would've been too damaging for his pride. "Can't most everybody?"

"Of course," Sasuke mumbled, still looking distant. Oh, he was getting very suspicious.

"_Yuki-chan_!" Naruto bounded out of the trees to their direction and practically shoved Yuki back down on the ground. Yuki noticed only one thing: Naruto had gotten back his forehead-protector. "I thought something bad happened to you..." He had a really cute puppy expression on his face, but it didn't change the fact that he'd probably just caused even more fractures on her ribs.

"Dead-last."

"What? Can't I be worried? Do you think you're so good that you'd be able to protect her by yourself, huh? _Huh?_" Naruto asked in an attempt to look menacing, but Sasuke just passed it off with a shrug as Sakura, too, appeared and bounded towards him like Naruto did to Yuki only moments before.

Before he let Sakura plague him with questions about his well-being, he turned around to look at the two on the ground and said, "Get off her, dunce." He disguised his jealously with that one word that could swallow Naruto whole.

"Say that again!" Naruto bellowed as he jumped up and started nagging at Sasuke with Sakura. Kakashi appeared by Yuki's side to help her get up. The trio were at a safe distance away and Kakashi looked over at hisyounger sisterwith concern at this rare moment.

"My rib..." Yuki muttered when he put a hand to her head.

"Kuma was it?" Yuki nodded. She had sent the details of what happened through her other clone.

"He's right over there."

"I see. Is your rib broken?"

"I'm not entirely sure. It can't be- butit hurts like hell." Kakashi made her start walking towards the camp so as to not make it look too obvious that they had deliberately lingered behind. He casted a fire skill over Kuma's body, and it quickly burnt to dust. "He was an S-class missing-nin." Kakashi nodded absent-mindedly.

"Let me help bandage you." They made clones of themselves go back to the camp as they sat down. "Yuki-chan?"

"It hurts," she whimpered. "Kakashi-niichan. It _hurts_." She just burst out crying right there. Kakashi looked down sadly at her. "He came out of nowhere and threw me to a tree. I couldn't react. I didn't know if I could. Maybe I should've tried? Then maybe I just, couldn't. He was only an S-class bastard. I should've been able to avoid it, or at least to block it. Anbus are supposed to be able to right? Right? Kakashi-niichan?"

Maybe she was too young to be an anbu. She'd killed more than he did when he was at her age. The breakdown didn't surprise him, though. Some nights, back when they were safe in Konoha, she would some to him, and ask, politely, if he could just sit with her and hold her. Respectfully valuing his time. And he'd always say yes. He'd always pick her up when she started crying and then held her for hours on end. Sometimes it came early in the morning, sometimes late at night. But he'd hold her like she wanted to, ever since she was only a child. It was a habit he'd never even think of breaking. Not for a sister like Yuki. Even if she wasn't a blood-relative.

"Hey, Yuki-chan," he whispered. She stopped hiding on his neck to look up at him. He had worry streaked all across his face.

"I know what you're thinking," she said dully. "You want me to stop, don't you?" He didn't mask the surprise that came from it. "I- I thought so. S-sometimes, I think about that too. But what would I be if I weren't what I am now."

"Being just a jounin isn't bad you know," he said lightly. "Sure, there isn't much adrenaline required in it, but from time to time, you get stuck with kids that could keep you on your toes for years." Yuki giggled at that, obviously thinking of Naruto. "And, being a jounin, you don't have to hide your face so much..." Yuki jerked up in surprise, earning a fresh wave of pain. "Shh... be careful. Of course I knew about it. That's why I'm your big brother, right? I know you hide behind your tough smiles when you're around me, but I know that you want to get rid of that mask. You want people to see you."

"Yeah, I guess... But I might not be ready to throw my mask away just yet..." she thought. "I guess this makes it my last mission as anbu."

"You've decided?"

"I'm 18! I can't waste any more of my life, now can I?" she said rhetorically. "Now, oniichan, I need help with bandages!" Kakashi chuckled at her sudden burst of spirit. It was so much like Naruto.

**"Kakashi-sensei**," said an irritated Naruto the next day. They slept with relative peace that night, each taking up a few hours watch with the exception of Yuki. "When are we going to get there? It's been almost two weeks and you told us that it'd take only one!"

"Dunce. It was your fault that we had to stop so often," Sasuke muttered loud enough for Naruto to hear, but he didn't take the bait this time as he was concentrating ontheir instructor.

"We've already arrived,"Kakashi said closing his eyes for a moment. They all stopped walking and looked back at him. "In fact, I think we went past the meeting point."

"What!" The enraged images of his three students shot up at him as he sweatdropped. "Why didn't you tell us earlier!" They spent a whole hour back-tracking with Yuki lingering behind with Sakura, thinking of the many ways they could murder the jounin.

"You're late," rang a cold voice as three hooded figures stopped them in their tracks. "Hatake-san?"

"Who are these people!" Naruto yelled as he ran forward. Kakashi stopped him by putting a hand up. Naruto, stood, seething at the entrance of the foreign figures.

"Can't you recognize an anbu when you see one?" Sasuke remarked as he came up beside Naruto. A vein popped.

"Sasuke, you bastard!"

"Sorry," Kakashi apologized to the lead anbu, stopping the coming argument. "We met up with a civilian along the way and decided to let her accompany us."

"Civilian?" The anbu jerked back when he saw Yuki stepping forward and bowing in front of him.

"I'm sorry for the trouble," she said timidly.

It was a good thing that anbus were required to use masks. This one had recognized her voice and was thinking, "What in hell? How did that ice queen get into this mix? Why was she traveling as herself with this measly group of chuunins? Where was her disguise? Did Hatake-san bring her? Why the big guns? Oh fuck! If I slip up now, she'll be reporting me! I knew we shouldn't have taken this mission. Damn it all!"

"Are you going to tell us what our mission is now?" Sakura piped up. The anbu turned its masked face in her direction.

"The Hokage didn't tell you?" The anbu gazed at their blank faces, Kakashi's including.

"It's very uncharacteristic for me to accept a mission without knowing what it's all about but the Hokage seemed adamant about us not knowing," Kakashi said as he rubbed the back of his head at his apparent irritation of her. "She only said to come prepared."

"Fine," the anbu snapped. "We and the hunter-nins requested a squad to help us make a trap to capture a missing-nin."

"He's that difficult, huh? Then again... this is only a B-class mission?" Kakashi said with bored look on his face. Well, it was only his visible eye that showed it. "So who is it? Why do you want the missing-nin captured instead of killed?"

"The missing-nin has some jutsu we wouldn't particularly like foreigners to get their hands on, so we'd rather dispose of his body after we manage to extract the jutsu. His name is Kuma. He disappeared from Konoha about three years ago." Yuki froze at the word Kuma. Kakashi's sharingan eye twitched, unseen.

"Kuma..." Sasuke repeated. "The man is about six feet and five inches tall, brown eyes, short hair. A scar from the eye right down to his chin?"

"How did you know?" the anbu, Sakura and Naruto asked in unison.

"I guess we've failed our mission then. He was killed yesterday," Sasuke said with an accusing gaze at Kakashi. The anbu looked at Kakashi to Sasuke and then back at Kakashi. He was sporting a sheepish look.

"Sorry about that. He tried to attack my students so I had to do something about it, didn't I?" Kakashi said, taking a defensive position. They didn't see the pale look on Yuki's face. It was her clone that killed it, hence it was her that did the job. "Hey! It's not our fault if the Hokage decided not to tell us what it was going to be about!" The anbu was cursing and kicking up the dust on the makeshift road.

"And did you dispose of the body properly?" he asked angrily.

"As properly as it could ever be," Kakashi answered.

"I guess that's it then," he muttered. He continued muttering something about wasting time as he walked away from them.

"Did someone try to attack Yuki-chan and Sasuke, Kakashi-sensei?" Naruto asked. Kakashi realized that Naruto and Sakura didn't notice anything amiss the day before. Kakashi shook his head in exasperation. They managed to get the whole story from Yuki instead - well, the most part of it.

"I guess that means that we'll be heading back." Yuki groaned inwardly. She was going to have to find a way to escape. Soon. Sasuke was staring at her.


	4. Should I?

Disclaimer: Naruto belongs to Kishimoto Masashi, contents of the following text only serve entertainment purposes.

AN:What you might not like: I twisted Kakashi's past to make it more relevant to and match Yuki's.  
OOC warning! alright! it goes throughout the _entire_ story! 

This chapter has been re-edited.

This chapter: Sanity is a precious thing. Should she sacrifice it in order to maintain her status as anbu?

**Chapter: Should I?**

**The** walk back to Konoha was even more tiring for Yuki. Especially with her rib still bugging her. Once she got back to Konoha she'd have to ask the Hokage to take a look at it. To make it worse, hanging around Sakura, whom she had grown to call Sakura-chan, as well as Naruto, left her no chance of escaping. Sasuke's ever watchful gaze also made it difficult.

Every time their eyes met, Sasuke seemed to have broken part of his wall to let her really look at him. At least, that was what it seemed. She couldn't deny that Sasuke was always on her mind. The day she had saved him, she realized that she had feelings for the boy, but avoided acknowledgement like a plague. Sasuke seemed to be doing the same thing. Every time his hungry eyes came over her, her body threatened to give in and return the gaze, but their rational senses kept anything from being too obvious. It was only the presence of the others that kept each other at a safe distance apart. Both realized what each were doing but pretended to be ignorant. Kakashi watched them from behind with unhidden interest.

Tomorrow they would reach Konoha. Tomorrow they would walk past the gates, drop Yuki off safely at her home and then report the mission to the Hokage. Tomorrow.

On the other hand, Yuki was slowly being filled with dread. She hadn't been able to escape them thus far, not even during Kakashi's night-shift. No, Uchiha Sasuke slept too lightly for that. She had to escape soon, before they reached Konoha. She couldn't just walk in and be walked to her home. It was Kakashi's home too. The trio knew his home, having visited a few times after the Orochimaru incident. They took sanctuary there when Uchiha Itachi went after them. They knew the place too well. She had to escape soon._ Soon_.

"Time to camp," Kakashi announced. Automatically Naruto went off in search for a safe clearing. Sakura went around in search for firewood. Sasuke and Yuki waited for Naruto to come back so they could start pitching up the tents. Kakashi left them to go off for a little hunt. Sasuke and Yuki distanced themselves and turned their backs to each other.

"What kind of an anbu am I?" Yuki was virtually kicking herself for acting all bashful and hesitant around him. It was the perfect chance to escape, but something held her back.

Once the camp was set and the fire was going, she took her seat around it. The food was being cooked and she was assigned to make sure that it wouldn't burn. After the meal was cooked, Yuki started to cut it up for the exhausted ninjas, there was plenty for all. Kakashi came to sit with her on one side and Sakura the other.

"H-Hatake-san?" They all looked up at her. "Hatake-san, could I speak to you later? Privately?" Kakashi nodded, looking bored on the exterior. Sasuke's ear pricked up in suspicion and something that was vaguely like jealousy. Sakura and Naruto simply continued with their meal.

**"What** is it, Yuki?" Kakashi asked later in the night. Morning, really. He had taken the last watch and was leading her a safe distance away from the camp. Far enough to still see the sleeping figures, but not to be heard.

"It's time I left... yeah?" She smiled up at him. "I'm so sorry I had to commit to asking you aside for the chance. Your students haven't exactly given me the chance to." Kakashi knew that by 'your students' she really meant only Sasuke. Except for those moments alone they had, his eyes were constantly on her. He tried to mask it with suspicion but Kakashi knew that it was more of an open curiosity.

"What excuse will I tell them tomorrow morning?"

"I don't know. Just tell them I left. Home's so close anyway. Anbus are on the watch from here to the village, so there's nothing to worry about. Something like that."

"They'll be devastated," Kakashi said. "Naruto will be yelling himself hoarse when he finds out."

"I'll be close by anyway," she said, rubbing the back of her head like her oniichan usually did. A habit she obviously picked up from him. "I've got to get myself out of these clothes anyway. The strain on my chakra keeps on increasing."

"I'll see you when I get home?"

"Yup," she answered, smiling as she jumped to a tree branch. "Thanks, oniichan." She faded into the shadows in an instant.

Back the camp, Sasuke was painfully aware that only one returned when two had gone. Only Kakashi-sensei. He had sensed that Yuki had been trying to escape, but didn't really do anything about it. He kept watching her, thinking that maybe the last sight of her might be his last. Now that she'd left, maybe she'd take away his infatuation of her. Maybe. Why did she go?

**"Yuki-chaaaaaaaan!**" The campers were rudely awakened by Naruto's yell. Kakashi had already seen that coming and had covered his ears. "Kakashi-sensei! Where's Yuki-chan? You talked to her last didn't you? You better not have done anything to her, you pervert!"

Yuki watched them from afar, giggling at the scene while also feeling betrayal of some sort for leaving them. She watched as Kakashi slowly explained to them. Both Sakura and Naruto seemed to look very upset at that. When Sasuke simply walked off she felt a sharp pain in her heart. She didn't see Sasuke go back into his tent. She didn't see the single tear flowing, unchecked, down his face. She didn't see him bite himself for it.

**She** watched them from afar as they kept on walking towards Konoha. It was in the middle of the afternoon when they arrived. She left them just as they stepped past the gates and headed straight to her home. It was always good to be back in Konoha. There was enough time for a quick shower before going to see the Hokage. She arrived just as Tsunade blew up about the death of the missing-nin.

"You did what!" she was screaming, more to the whole group than Kakashi alone, who had curved his eye up in a sheepish smile and was rubbing the back of his head. "You guys..."

"Hokage-sama." Yuki decided to appear in the office to interrupt the meeting. It was alright for an anbu to appear there. "A word? With your permission." Tsunade nodded and led her to a private room, leaving the four ninjas outside, looking surprised at her entrance.

"Argh!" she heard Naruto exclaim exasperatedly. "Anbus interrupting our report _again_! Then again, their timing has always been perfect. Maybe Tsunade-baba will cool down a little." True, it wasn't the first time Yuki had to step in to save their hide from the temperamental Hokage.

"You didn't inform them about the content of their mission?" Yuki asked.

"It was supposed to be a test! It wasn't anything they couldn't handle on their own!" Tsunade grumbled.

"You labeled it a B-class mission!"

"All they had to do was to _assist_ the hunter-nins!"

"Kuma was an _S-class_ shinobi!"

"Information like that is _vital_ to the success of a mission."

"A mere slip up would have _killed_ any one of them."

"Uchiha Sasuke passed out fighting him."

"What!" That bit of information certainly got a reaction.The two glared at each other until Tsunade finally realised her own mistake."Alright! Alright! It was my fault!" Yuki nodded to her solemnly. Tsunade was grumbling again. "But his skills were really important."

"Which?"

"He was one of the last of his clan. His heritage is slowly deteriorating. Konoha needs thoseskills kept alive."

"Didn't you hear what I said?" Yuki reprimanded. It was fairly odd to be in that situation. Anbu winning over the Hokage. _No matter_. Once Tsunade found out that it was really _Yuki_ that had done the job... "I said that Uchiha Sasuke fought him." Realization struck her.

"But it was Kakashi that he was the one that killed him. Not Sasuke."

"Well... It wasn't Kakashi-niichan," Yuri said, stumbling on her words. Tsunade found the opening and pounced at the chance. It felt so degrading to be Hokage and be reprimanded by an anbu. And a _kid_ to boot! Yuki put on a sheepish expression though Tsunade couldn't see it behind the mask, but the most telling gesture was the guilty action of rubbing the back of her head... a gesture reminiscent of Kakashi.

"_You_ did it, didn't you?" Tsunade growled as fire erupted in her eyes. Yuki slowly backed away and opened the door, knowing that an audience was the only thing that would save her from Tsunade. Yep, Yuki learned never to be caught alone with Tsunade in a room. _Especially_ if she made a slip up.

"Very well then," she said coolly as she stepped out. "I'll return later. I'm sorry for taking up your time." Tsunade knew that the girl had out-foxed her, so she merely sighed in defeat. She returned to her seat as the anbu left the room.

"Uchiha Sasuke...?"

"...Yeah?"

"So you fought Kuma? Did you use your sharingan?"

"Yes."

"Good. I need you to show it to Kakashi. Kakashi, you'll record it...?"

"Sure."

"Dismissed."

The three chuunins walked out fairly puzzled. Sasuke just shrugged it off and left for the training grounds with Kakashi, not bothering to stop off at his home first. Naruto had gone to his usual ask-Sakura-out-after-a-completed-mission mode and forced Sakura to join him at Ichiraku ramen. Sakura had no longer refused him, knowing life would be easier without Naruto constantly nagging at her to go out with him, so she accepted. The answer was met with delight and Naruto began 'bouncing' all over the village to invite other people to eat with them. Some things never change. But getting Sakura alone wasn't a goal for Naruto anymore. He asked her out purely out of habit.

**Once** knowing everything was alright with the group, Yuki turned back to the Hokage's office, waiting for her in Tsunade's own private room, that was her secret 'hospital', lying down on an operating table wearing only a vest and shorts. Her disguise - a hooded cloak and a mask - lay on the floor.

Beside her was a still body. The man would almost seem dead if it weren't for the slow, gentle breathing that indicated that he was still alive. Other wise he wasn't moving. Not a twitch. The man had been in a coma for years. Nearly 4 years in fact.

_Uchiha Itachi_ had never woken up since Sasuke had pounded him with a chidori. It was a heated battle. Sasuke was only a gennin then, though he was one of the top ones. In the end they had both collapsed into a coma. Sasuke woke up only two months later, disoriented and almost about to attack his own dear friend, Naruto. Naruto calmed him, of course. Told him that his brother had also slipped into a coma. Although, he was more unlikely to wake up when compared to Sasuke. So Uchiha Itachi remained hidden from the rest of Konoha, lying within the Hokage's reach. _Just in case._

Yuki lay, staring at the man's face. It was so much similar to Sasuke's. Yuki blushed at the thought. Never had she thought of a male like she thought of that dark-haired young man. She was around her own perverted brother too much to notice anything special about them... but when she was looking at Sasuke... When he tried so much to let her inside him, if only through his eyes...

"Yuki-chan?" Tsunade called in surprise as she entered the room. It was time for her routine check up on Itachi. She wasn't expecting Kakashi's sister to be there too. "Yuki-chan, are you alright?" Thoughts of their previous encounter was immediately dismissed.

"I'm really sorry. I know I'm being troublesome but could you take a look at my ribs? Please, Tsunade-sama." Tsunade was without expression as she put a hand over the young lady to use her chakra to check up on her body.

"Yuki-chan!" she gasped. "You fractured a rib..."

"Dang..." Yuki said through gritted teeth. "I thought so."

"Just lie down still," Tsunade instructed. Yuki let her mind fade away from reality as Tsunade began her 'operation'. It was night before she was done. Tsunade had slowed down the process a bit so they could talk to each other while she was being healed. They both had the time anyway. "There. You should be alright now." Yuki sat up and stretched her back.

"Thank you, Tsunade-sama," she said, smiling up at her. While she was chattering away with her, her mind had caught up on something that happened between her and Kakashi. It remained partly in attention to that. _Should she quit?_ "Ts-Tsunade-sama?"

"Yuki-chan?"

"I... I... it's nothing," she ended flatly as doubts rose to her mind. "Excuse me. Thank you for taking care of me."

"Yuki-chan, you know you can talk to me," Tsunade said gently. Apparently her irritation earlier that afternoon was forgotten. "I realize that both you and Kakashi have been away for missions, but is Kakashi at your home enough to your liking?"

"Tsunade-sama... I don't want to ruin anything just because-"

"We care about you, Yuki-chan. Kakashi cares for you, too. Who knows? He cares for you more than the rest of us combined. I don't want to take him out more than necessary. He feels the same way about that too."

"...Yeah, I understand." Yuki looked dully at the floor.

"How could that Uchiha pass out?" Tsunade wondered out loud.

"Kuma was an S-class shinobi... I wouldn't be surprised if he fought Uchiha Itachi and squared it out." Yuki was gritting her teeth in resentment. "His clan must be very powerful."

"No. Not really. He must have learnt something during his period of absence to have made him stronger." Yuki felt the disappointment of their loss.

"Sorry about that. I burnt his body in the forest."

"Don't mind it. At least, this way, no one else will be able to reach it either."

"Well. I'll be going home now," she said when nothing else could be brought up.

Instead of making her way straight home, she made a detour to the training ground where team 7 would have normally trained in. She didn't know why her body just decided to go there. She let out a little gasp when she saw Sasuke there. He wastraining in the middle of the clearing. He seemed to twitch when she gasped. He stopped and turned all around as she hid. When he found nothing amiss, he kept on training.

Yuki watched, breathless as her heart raced against her will. Sasuke looked so focused. His dark eyes were... blank. It was both fascinating and depressing at the same time.

"Sasuke-kun..." she whispered against the wind. Her mind wandered to what had happened with Tsunade. She chickened out of telling her that she wanted out. She started rethinking her options. If she did demote herself to the jounin level, she'd have to make an appearance among all the other jounins as well as the chuunins of the village. Sakura-chan would find out. Naruto-kun would find out. Sasuke-kun would find out. They'd all feel so betrayed. Would she be able to handle that?

"Yuki-chan..." Kakashi had appeared next to her and had touched her lightly on the shoulder.

"I... Sorry, Kakashi-niichan." Kakashi looked to where she had been looking at and saw Sasuke. He sighed visibly and gave her a little pull to go away.

"Yuki-chan. You do realize that your abilities - the byakugan and the sharingan can only be inherited?"

"Like yours, oniichan? Your father had it?" That was the only bit of information Yuki knew about Kakashi's lineage.

"Yes... That's right." Kakashi winced inwardly at the memory of his parents. "I think it's time you understand something."


	5. One Step Back

Disclaimer: Naruto belongs to Kishimoto Masashi, contents of the following text only serve entertainment purposes.

AN: This chapter has been re-edited.

This chapter: Life could get easier if one stops forcing one's self... right?

**Chapter: One Step Back**

**The **Hokage had just finished telling her the full account of what had happened the day Yuki was found. As well as an account of what she had done. What she had done as a mere child. The Hokage told her that it was _she_ that had, ultimately, saved Konoha from the Kyuubi.

At age three, the Sandaime had singled her out to be an anbu. She was separated from Naruto and was trained rigorously by himself. She was kept hidden from the rest of Konoha, by his own orders. It was a necessary function to help his ambitious mind. Yuki was to train at a young age, at a quicker speed than her childhood companion, Naruto. The function was so she could act as reinforcement whenever the Kyuubi decided to act up inside Naruto again, whenever its reappearance became a huge probability. Knowing both how to protect herself and Naruto, they would both be safe from any danger. The Sandaime had planned for her to be the perfect bodyguard. Thankfully, the day never came, but Yuki adamantly refused to be let off from training. In some way, both the Sandaime and Kakashi were disappointed at her decision.

She became an anbu at the age of 9 - skipping the genin, chuunin and jounin stages. Naruto was still studying at the academy then. She and Kakashi were singled out to be the next anbu leaders after the previous one had betrayed them - Uchiha Itachi. She refused. Since her elder brother, Kakashi, had also refused that position, she followed suit. No one had become an official leader since. Rumors came out about her double-bloodline, but were doused as no one had any proof. At least, no had had ever lived to tell anything. No one but her brother and the Hokages had ever seen her face. Now, age 19, she allowed three chuunins, a missing-nin and a fellow anbu see her in her 'normal' form. Life was getting difficult.

"Yuki-san, we don't know much about who your parents are but..." Tsunade seemed to hesitate. "There were reports... I wasn't around the village at that time - it was about two years before you were born, that an Uchiha and a Hyuuga were banished from their respective clans. Kakashi seems to believe so as well. That's all the information I could gather of your background without causing any suspicion."

"Do... do they know about me?" It was all a shock to her, but she vaguely knew that something like that was coming. The part about having forced the Kyuubi back into Naruto's body and reinforcing the seal was a little hard to believe though. Her big brother had a hand to her shoulder. It was a comforting gesture. She wondered if he did it on purpose. She turned her attention back to Tsunade and looked at her in the eye. She nearly flinched.

"Most probably not. Your existence has been kept secret since your arrival to the Hokage's home, a little more than 18 years ago. Even your adoption to the Hatake household was kept a strict secret between only the Sandaime, Kakashi and yourself. And now me." Tsunade looked at her with troubled eyes. "If you wish to pursue an investigation into either Uchiha or Hyuuga household, you have my permission. However-"

"As long as I am still an anbu, such an investigation is impossible." she continued for her. The pressure of Kakashi's hand on her shoulder increased. Kakashi gave the Hokage a silent request.

"I'll leave you two alone. I'll be just outside." The Hokage nodded in Kakash's direction before closing the door.

"What do you think?" he asked as he leaned on the Hokage's desk, finally being able to face her. She had a troubled expression on her face.

"I think that I want to know more about my lineage." Yuki took in a deep breath and looked up at him. "Since I can't go any further, might as well look back, right?"

"If that's what you want."

"B-but, Sakura-chan and Naruto-kun would be devastated, right? Knowing that I practically lied to their faces, and then appearing before the council to announce myself..." Kakashi noticed her deliberate omission of Sasuke.

"Do you know why I wanted you to know about this, _now_ of all times?" Yuki shook her head and looked up at her brother with a puzzled expression on her face. "Because I saw the way you were looking at Sasuke-kun." Yuki turned a bright red. "I realized you knew bits of your past so I didn't think it was necessary to tell you sooner than needed. I'm sorry."

"It's alright," she choked out, her mind still on Sasuke. Kakashi noticed this and chuckled.

"When you just arrived at Konoha, looking all tired and sleepy in your blanket, I knew. I just knew that you would be someone special. I visited you all the time. I know you don't remember. I wanted to take care of you so I stopped being an anbu and settled on being a jounin."

"W-what are you trying to tell me?"

"I had enough of that life anyway," he said gently. "I didn't want to come home to a kid sister, looking all bloody. Maybe one day I would've had something serious happen to me. Maybe one day, I wouldn't go home at all. So I stopped. Life as anbu was getting too uncomfortable to raise a child, even if the Sandaime was the one spending the most time with you."

"You're saying that I might've just found someone... someone s-spe-cial...?" she choked on the last word. "And when that happened to you, you stopped being an anbu."

"That was my choice. I don't regret it. Now you have to choose your own path." Kakashi knew what she would pick. He was silently hoping that she would pick his path. He didn't want an emotionally unstable sister. Being simply a jounin was... more liberating. Once his students got over the fact that she was a leaf-jounin and that she was his sister, they would become friends. Kakashi thought that Yuki could be much happier like that. Much much happier.

"Being a jounin's not so bad... I guess..." she said shyly. Kakashi felt a little victory. "Right, Kakashi-niichan?"

"So..." Kakashi fought back a relieved laugh. "I'll call in Tsunade-sama."

Tsunade felt relieved as well. Arrangements were made to transfer her between the two sections. It would take a few days, and then she'd have to appear in front of the other jounins in the village. Once the jounins recognized her, she would be introduced to the chuunins. Tsunade made sure that no missions came to either person during the course of that week. Better to let the siblings catch up, right?

**"Kakashi-niichan!**" Yuki hollered from the living room of their apartment. Kakashi stepped in it looking puzzled. "Could I- uh... could I-" Kakashi almost smiled to himself. What was it that she wanted? They had to leave soon. Yuki went over and whispered her request to his ear and he started laughing. "Stop laughing!" she cried out, blushing bright red.

"You sure about that?" he asked, almost stepping back to his room. Yuki nodded. "Alright."

Minutes later, Kakashi stepped outside his apartment and greeted the sunshine with a smile. Yuki stood still right at the shadows of the doorway. He could only see her feet. He waited, knowing that it was an important moment for her. It would be the first time she would step out of the apartment through the front door. It would be the first time she left their home without anbu gear. Kakashi saw her take in a deep breath and take one step out. And another step. And then slowly down the stairs.

"Alright?" he asked gently. She nodded in calm resolution. Hecouldn't helpbut feel a little worry sinceearlier she'd asked toto use one of his face-masks. It almost seemed like she couldn't bear to go out without something covering her face. But it was a big step. His own masks only came up to the bridge of the nose. Even that was enough to get her to fidget in awkwardness. It didn't bother her during her previous mission that she went without it because she was partly in genjutsu anyway. It was enough to keep her feeling safely 'concealed'. Besides that she was sporting her usual vest and shorts with a piece of cloth tied on her right arm. That was where the mark of the anbu was stamped. It would always be there and since she never liked wearing shirts with sleeves, that was the best she could do to cover it up without wasting her chakra. "Big day today..."

"Yup," she chirped as she fell into his pace beside him. "But all I am going to do is stand up beside Tsunade-sama while she introduces me... Such a big fuss for a little thing." Kakashi patted her head fondly, seeing trough her facade. She sure was nervous. She couldn't stop twitching her fingers, and she didn't even realize it.

At once, Kakashi was struck at how much she had grown. He suddenly felt like one of those sniffy parents that teared up to see their 'baby' all 'grown up'. He was exceedingly fond of the girl, now she was going to join him in his world, among those of the same ranks.

**The** jounins took an interesting look at their new comrade. The Hokage said that she was Kakashi's sister, but she was hardly anything like him though she had the same tall and lanky structure, but her hair was purple and her eyes were maroon. They shone red when put against the light at a certain angle. It looked almost like blood. She was also wearing the same face mask, though she had an alert expression on her face, as opposed to Kakashi's sleepy one.

"Nice to meet you all," she said to the group as the Hokage left them. It was silent for a moment.

"Wow! My greatest rival, Kakashi!" That was Gai. "I didn't know you had a sister!" All the jounins noticed the cloth wrapping part of her arm and most came to the same conclusion - that she had been an anbu. "She's joined us at quite an early age! Although you entered our ranks when you even younger that she is now... my rival couldn't have even better relations!" He ended it with a teeth-flashing smile and a pose. While the other jounins congratulated her brother, Kurenai approached Yuki.

"Congratulations, Yuki-san," she said, giving her a little friendly smile.

"Thank you, Kurenai-san," Yuki said. She saw the surprised expression on the older woman's face. Yuki only smiled back. Kurenai was wondering how she knew her... but she was an anbu, so Yuki probably had even more surprises on her than just knowing her name.

"Why don't we go out for a drink while they're still bombarding your brother?"

"Sounds like a nice idea." It was a little while anyway, before all the jounins and the chuunins would be put together. The academy was about to have its graduation exam and jounins needed to be posted as instructors. Might as well get herself introduced there. Kurenai was such a nice person.

**That** afternoon came and she was filled with dread. After having congratulated Kakashi, the other jounins had turned their attention to her and had accepted her with open arms. Would it be the same in the case of the chuunins?

Tsunade began the meeting with the usual round of announcements to the crowd that had gathered and was now ticking off a number of jounins to become instructors. The names were put down by recommendation. Yuki was one of them.

"Hatake-" Sasuke's ears perked up. So did his two team mates. Would their sensei be taken away from them? Sonna... "Fuyu Yuki." Their dread was replaced with shock. Yuki! _Yuki!_

Yuki had stepped forward among the other jounin that had been recommended. Her heart was fluttering nervously. She was thinking anxiously, "Did Sasuke-kun hear my name being called up? Were Naruto-kun and Sakura-chan there too? Were they angry? Why was I nominated to become an instructor? I'd only got this job today..." Replacing her anxiety was her irritation. "Nevermind," she told herself. The crowd had been noisy once her name was called up but it was dying down as Tsunade told the instructors-to-be the last of her announcements. She dismissed them all.

All but Kakashi and the rest of his squad left.

"Kakashi-niichan?" she croaked when she saw the faces being made by the people that she had just made her friends only days ago. She had run away from them. She never told them who she was and yet they were still willing to give her protection, though Yuki knew that she was able to protect herself.

"You three," Kakashi said, drawing his students' attention to him as he put a hand on Yuki's head. "Meet my sister."

"I am Hatake Fuyu Yuki. Nice to meet you all," she said, amazingly without choking.

"No way!" Naruto was the first one to react. "Kakashi-sensei! Why didn't you tell us she was your sister? Why didn't you tell us you had any other relations at all! Yu-ki--chan."

"I'm sorry," she whispered. Naruto felt bad for yelling but he couldn't help feeling betrayed either.

"Well, Naruto-kun. Anbus weren't allowed to reveal themselves after all." Yuki blushed a little and gave them the same sheepish grin that Kakashi was given them. Naruto held it in as long as he could, but he couldn't stop from bursting out laughing. Yuki was like mini-female-Kakashi.

"Yuki-chan!" Naruto exclaimed as he rushed forward and gave her a slap on the back that nearly made her fall if Kakashi wasn't holding on to her. "You should've told us you were a leaf-nin! Else I wouldn't have gone all worried these past few days."

"I'm sorry, Naruto-kun," she apologized again.

"And you!" he said mock-angrily, pointing an accusing finger towards his sensei. "How could you left us in the dark! 'She'll be fine,' you said. 'There are other things protecting the wildlife around Konoha,' you said. But not once - not once! - did you say 'she's my kid sister so she'll be alright.' or even 'she's a jounin.' or -nothing!" Naruto continued to vent out on Kakashi as Yuki moved her attention towards his other two team mates. But Sasuke was nowhere in sight. Sakura was smiling shyly at her. They'd never really gotten close enough anyway, so Sakura took the situation fairly lightly. Yuki was more worried about Sasuke.

"Yuki-chan..."

"I'm sorry, Sakura-chan," said Yuki.

"Don't worry about it, Yuki-chan. But it's great, isn't it? You look about our age and yet you're already a jounin." Her smile was a little forced towards the end. Sakura knew what it took to become jounin. You had to learn how to kill. "In any case, now that the meetings over I have to go meet Ino. She wanted to go shopping."

"Have fun," said Yuki, smiling a little at her, though she knew that it was wasted since they could barely see the rest of her face with her mask on.

"Yuki-chan... It's nice seeing you again," Sakura said with a final wave before she left them. At least everything was alright with Naruto-kun and Sakura-chan. How was Sasuke doing?

**Sasuke** was back at the training grounds, doing furious kicks and punches to the air.

"How dare she..." he thought angrily. "How dare she deceive me!" His rational side knew that it was useless getting angry. Like Kakashi said, anbus weren't normally allowed to reveal themselves, after all. But he felt so emotional inside. He was torn between relief at her safety and anger at her deceit. It was more rational to be relieved than to be angry over some rule that had been in place long before he was born, and perhaps would continue till long after he was dead, too. But for all that, even the sight of her managed to stir up emotions inside him. He resented that.

Even after revealing herself, he knew. He just knew that there was something else that she was hiding from them. From everyone. It was her eyes. He knew that there was something different. He just didn't know _what_.

In all his years at Konoha he had never felt so angry as to rival his own stirred up emotions about his comatose brother. It wasn't anger about the deceit. No, it wasn't. Not any longer. He was angry because no one had ever made him _feel_ so much since the death of his family.


	6. Who Is She?

Disclaimer: Naruto belongs to Kishimoto Masashi, contents of the following text only serve entertainment purposes.

AN: This chapter has been re-edited.

This chapter: A day out with Naruto, how bad can it get?

**Chapter: Who is she?**

**A** little more than a week had passed since she was officially 'public'. Sasuke still hadn't talked to her. Yuki tried to approach him but he never seemed to even acknowledge her existence, but she kept on trying. Smiling at him at every chance she got, even though that part of her face was hidden. It hurt. She didn't want it to hurt. After all, she'd revealed herself for... him... didn't she? Kakashi was hinting at that... or was he? Oh, it was too confusing. Sasuke hated her, that was for sure. He'd not even glance her way. If his eyes were looking in her direction, he didn't look at her, he looked_ through _her. With those dark, empty eyes. But she kept on trying. She went with Kakashi every morning to their training grounds to watch them exercise and occasionally help them.

Both Naruto and Sakura were happy at that because, with her around, their instructor didn't seem to arrive as late as he usually would, and when he did arrive... Well, that was a funny scene. Kakashi would be looking sheepishly away, both would have a little blush over the visible part of their cheeks, but Yuki would have this aura that reeked of murderous intentions. The constant clenching and unclenching of her fists told them that she was angry at him for something, but refused to tell what. In truth, Yuki was simply frustrated with her brother.

Every morning, _every_ morning he would be hogging the bookstores for new _books_, Come Come Paradise was getting a little... unexciting to him. Every morning he would lounge around the living room reading some god-forsaken book, _hours_ past the designated meeting time for his squad. Sometimes she'd catch him, after coming back from the main offices to check on her duties, if any. She'd swipe the dratted book from his hands while he was unaware -that would be normally during one of the really dirty parts, she would guess, because he would be chuckling mischievously- and then hit him over the chest with it... and begin a diatribe about how he was supposed to be a role-model for her. Yup. That was her big brother for her. How... disturbingly perverted. Why he would even fight people _while_ reading _it_, she didn't know.

After apologizing, although she thought that it was never _really_ sincere, he'd bring her to the training field and then get her to play the target to his squad's ninjutsu or taijutsu practice... as if he was trying to get back at her for it. Sakura and Naruto held back, she noticed. But Sasuke... his movements were so controlled she didn't know whether he was holding back or was trying to give more force to his attacks. So was the routine. But during the time she was with the squad, she'd noticed more about them than she had while she was assigned to watch them from afar.

It was of her opinion that Sasuke and Naruto could already be vying for a jounin position. But their minds were still unfavorably immature. Compared to Naruto, Sasuke was much closer to being a jounin, having attempted to kill his own brother when he was a young teen. Naruto wouldn't be able to handle it for a bit of a while, she remembered the first time Naruto had entered battle -he had frozen then at the new experience, but Sasuke...he just jumped right in. Sakura had barely a chance at all, to Yuki's personal opinion. She had hardly the _heart _to become a jounin ninja. She had grown enough to be chuunin but it would've been better if she had gone through a different path. If the kind-hearted and slightly emotional Sakura had followed the medic-ninja's path, she would've gotten even _further_ than either of the two young men even at her _present_ age. But... it wasn't really for her to judge, right? Besides, Sakura was _trying_ so hard. If anything, Sakura had the _skill_ to become a _truly_ great ninja. Maybe even give Tsunade a run for her money.

"Yuki-chan!" Kakashi was calling her on the other side of the field. Naruto was next to him, waving at her with enthusiasm, bouncing up and down in a very childish fashion. Really, that boy never really grew up, did he?

"_Yuki-chan_," Naruto drawled happily.

"Yes?" she replied walking up to them at a leisurely pace.

"Hokage-sama wanted to see you and Naruto-kun about a mission," Kakashi told them.

"Me... and Naruto-kun?" she repeated, looking dumbfounded. Naruto looked shocked. For a moment Yuki was confused but jerked back when she realized the implications of her statement, her question. "No! It's not like that, Naruto-kun! It's just... I... I haven't been sent off on a mission with a partner in... in quite a long while." Naruto was sporting a sheepish look. He'd really thought... well, he didn't really know Yuki_ that_ well enough... but as close as they'd become, she... Naruto shrugged off the doubt away when he saw her eyes smile apologetically at her and chuckled. Yuki was alright. But _why did those eyes look so familiar?_ Yuki mentally sighed in relief when he smiled back at her.

**An** hour later they were on their way to the Hidden Snow village on an 'urgent' mission to retrieve a scroll and destroy it after learning the contents. Just _one_ scroll. _One_ jutsu. Yuki was unable to hide the irritation from her face but Naruto was looking happy. She could almost swear to have heard him chanting: "I'm going to learn a new jutsu!" for several irritating hours. Irritating but... Naruto was such a _rapscallion_.

"Yuki-chan!" Naruto exclaimed, interrupting the silence of the dense forest. They were, at present, jumping from tree to tree in a dash, though unhurried. It was an urgent mission, sure, but at the speed they were in, an unhurried dash was sufficient to cover enough distance in a day. No need for any extra strain.

"What is it, Naruto-kun?"

"What kind of jutsus can you do?" he asked, almost shyly. Yuki was silent, so he cocked his head to one side. He jumped to the tree branches that were closer to her. She was thinking about something. "Hm, Yuki-chan?"

"Most are the same as yours," she said with a little smile, though never breaking her concentration of their current situation. It was alright to get into a conversation before heading into enemy territory, but it was always important to keep up one's guard. You never knew what could come. That was a lesson she learned as an anbu. But the nature of the topic was interesting, she had unconsciously begun a little conversation in her head. She wasn't as skilled as Kakashi was with his sharingan but she _was_ pretty handy with herself. She hadn't copied off that many skills from other ninjas, her former opponents, preferring silent, immediate assassinations. That was what an anbu was supposed to do anyway. Playing with the opponent too much was too risky for their own safety. But when she did manage to copy off a skill, she never used it. Preferring the skills used by his brother's squad to others. With the exception of kaze no jutsu. Now _that_ was one handy jutsu. So, in short she had a variety of skills... but never used them. Most of them required too much chakra anyways.

"Kakashi-sensei said that you used to be anbu... that's true isn't it?" he asked, his eyes twitching towards her covered right arm. Far be it from him to stop being curious. Naruto had always had this cute look on him when he was puzzled or curious about something. Yuki answered affirmatively.

"I used to watch over your team," she said. Naruto looked baffled. He could be so cute at times. "You see, Naruto-kun. Whether they know it or not, most teams consisting of gennin and chuunin are normally watched over by anbu. The anbu don't interfere unless the situation has risen above potential critical damage levels. Unless the situations deem a problem life-threatening to a gennin or chuunin, anbus would_ never _interfere. I'd been doing that the past years." She declined to say how long. Naruto would never believe her anyway. Would he? Naruto could be so trusting... then again trusting people took betrayal seriously. Naruto had accepted her so soon after she had revealed herself. "I'd never been caught till you snuck up on me in the forest." Yuki grinned over at him. "You've grown so much so well, Naruto-kun." Naruto had a frown on his face. He was thinking hard about something.

"There was a time... when I used to sense this strange chakra... It was always nearby... always watching. That was you, wasn't it?" Yuki sharply breathed in, her thoughts running wildly. Was it... possible? "I stopped bothering about it because its presence was always so comforting."

"You sensed my chakra?" Yuki nearly tripped over and fell. Of all the surprises! _Naruto had been able to sense her all this time!_

"Yeah! I even remember, as a kid, it was always there. Were you always watching me?" There was a hopeful lilt in his voice. Yuki's heart nearly broke. His eyes were sparkling with... such hope. It was almost as if he were _pleading_ with her to tell him that it was true. Well, it _was_ true, and there really was no reason to say otherwise. It must've been the kyuubi's extra senses that had helped him. Might've been.

"Yes. I was looking over you most of the time." Though Yuki could never really understand it herself then. But she'd always been drawn to him. Maybe it was because... perhaps it was the influence of the Third that had pushed her towards him. Whenever there was a stealth exercise, Naruto was always the target. After a while it had become habit. She was used to following him. "I could never make myself appear in front of you, though, at least, not after... But I was always there to help you out. To give you a little push. Do you remember, Naruto-kun? When we were children..."

**flashback**

"Uzumaki-san..." A little girl wearing a hood was offering a lollipop to the blonde child sitting alone on the swings. Nobody seemed to want to get anywhere near him. Two sparkling blue eyes looked at her in surprise. The little girl kept silent and still until his hand hesitantly reached up to accept it.

"T-th-thank you," he said gratefully. He saw the little girl's mouth curve up to a smile. He looked shyly at her. This girl was different. Not just her eyes... they were maroon, but, she was... nice. No one had offered him any candy before. He felt himself blushing a little at the unexpected attention. "P-please call me Naruto."

"Okay!" she piped up. "Naruto-kun." The blonde boy now stood up and edged closer to the girl. A friendship offering was right before him. He wasn't about to miss the chance!

"What's your name?" he asked. Suddenly there was a shriek.

"It's that boy!"

"Get that girl away from him!"

Immediately, the girl was picked up and carried off, wailing to be let go. Naruto took a frightened step back and dropped the candy. Those people... they were looking at him... with that... look... "Stop looking at me like that!" he thought desperately as he edged away from them. Their eyes... cut his heart. He felt tears start to form in his eyes as he took a few shaky steps back. When one of the adults took menacing step forward, Naruto turned around and fled.

**end flashback**

"I'm really sorry. I tried to get back to you but-"

"It's alright," Naruto said solemnly, though he had a blush on his face. So that was _Yuki_. Those _maroon eyes_ were _hers_. It was one of his _most_ _important_ memories. Always, it had been the thought of_ that little girl_ that had kept him going, that kept him fighting onwards. Always, it had been the thought of her that kept him _sane_. That kept reminding him that somebody _wanted_ to make friends with him. She had acknowledged his existence and offered to be friends with him. That memory cut his heart, and soothed it at the same time. Naruto stopped moving. Yuki, in curiosity, hopped back to the tree branch he was standing on. She saw a tear mark the tree and jerked back.

"I'm sorry, Naruto-kun! I didn't mean to remind you of your past." Yuki gulped down that painful suffocating feeling. She should've known not to bring it up. Those villagers... called him such horrible names as they had her taken away. She tried to follow him after that but she couldn't find him then. It was only later that she had found out, from the Third, that Naruto had hidden himself in the forest. The Third forbade her to reveal herself to anyone again. That was why she couldn't get back to him. That memory must've been one of the most painful he had... Naruto still wasn't looking up at her.

"It's not that," he choked. He put his chin up, finally, trying valiantly to keep himself from crying harder. "All this time... I- I just didn't realize that anyone outside m-my squad and the other ninjas I've w-worked with could ever _really_ care ab-bout me." Yuki relaxed her shoulders in relief. So he wasn't angry with her. She moved towards him and put her arms around him in a tight hug. Naruto let it out right then as he hugged her back. She had no idea she had struck a chord so deep. So very deep. "Thank you... Yuki-chan." He clenched his teeth and tried to keep himself from actually breaking down. Yuki brought them both down to kneeling positions on the tree when she felt Naruto start trembling. She almost felt like crying herself.

"Come on, Naruto-kun," Yuki said grinning at herself with difficulty. Naruto stopped sobbing and was rubbing his eyes to clear his vision. _How embarrassing_, he was thinking. But... this was _Yuki_. Naruto sniffed back a tear and tried to smile. "I'll teach you a new jutsu as we go along." His ears pricked up. She knew that _that_ was going to cheer him up. An amusing fact but... as long as Naruto didn't dwell on the past, it was alright. Heck, Naruto didn't _dwell_ much at all, so it was easier to draw his attention to something he might actually enjoy. Crying was too sensitive a side to her. She didn't want to all-out breakdown on him. The change of topic was _needed_. "It's a simple technique, but it's a little hard to control." She began her explanation while resuming their path towards the Hidden Snow village. One step. Two step. _Forget about crying._ "Use too much chakra and you'll get blown off your position. Use too little and you won't be able to control its path and it might end up going out of control."

"What's the name of this jutsu, Yuki-chan?" He was looking eagerly at her. Yeah, that's _Naruto_! Come rain or shine, Naruto loved learning new skills. This how she was trying to get him to cheer up. Apparently, it was working. But Yuki was still very sorry about bringing up that touchy subject that was his past.

"Kaze no jutsu." (Wind Skill)

"What! You want me to learn that?" Naruto was dumbfounded. Those sparkling blue eyes had forgotten the tears it had just shed. Yuki felt her heart lift a little as she returned her attention to the current subject. Clearly he was already underestimating the jutsu. Yuki put up the seal and let out a shot of air in his direction. Because he didn't think it was powerful enough to hurt him, he earned a blow to the ground. Yuki jumped down beside him and looked over his surprise expression. His eyes were getting wider by the second. Yuki knew what was going to happen next. "I didn't even see that coming! Your face mask twitched a little so you must've opened your mouth a bit and then- incredible! You're going to teach me that, aren't you Yuki-chan? Aren't you?" Yuki nearly laughed at that typical reaction. Naruto was Naruto.

"Only if you listen well and promise to do what I tell you. It's no easy feat and I don't want you destroying the forest." Naruto was enthusiastically jumping up and down. Naruto was so very cheerful. He had been reacquainted with the only person that had ever been kind to him during his childhood - with the exception of the Third and Iruka-sensei. Yuki was such a good person to him. Even when they met in the forest, she'd always given him kind and heartfelt attention. Of course, there was that... fact that she didn't... that she hadn't... informed them about her position in Konoha. About her relation to Kakashi. Hell, _Kakashi_ didn't even tell _him_! But it was alright now. At least she actually _did_, in the end, tell them. Everything was just fine. Yuki was there. That's all that mattered. But Naruto still wasn't aware that his history with her went all the way back to the days of the Kyuubi war.

**"Yuki-chan...**" It was officially their first week on the road. Yuki was surprised that they had traveled at an even faster pace than when Naruto was with his original squad. Really surprised. Naruto... shouldn't've been able to handle it. No. Naruto's body functions just had not developed in such a way that it could stand the constant pace they were making. Had it? "When are we going to reach that darn village?" It was true to what she thought. Naruto _wasn't_ used to traveling at that pace. _Especially_ since he was also learning a new jutsu. He had been showing signs of muscle strain the day before. They were slight. But the signs were _there_ all the same.

"In an hour, Naruto-kun," she said brightly, trying to make the thought sound tempting enough to speed up a little. Even for only a quarter of an hour. But it was hoping too much. She didn't want a strained partner during that mission. Naruto didn't rise to the bait and instead looked painfully tuckered out. He must've been under more strain than she thought. "Then again, I'm kinda hungry. Let's stop for a short while." Naruto tried to hide the sense of relief that had washed over him as Yuki jumped down to the ground with him. "Why don't you build the fire while I go scout? I'll be back in a short while."

Naruto desperately didn't want to admit that he was feeling strained. It was awkward enough that he had let his emotions go out of control earlier, she didn't need to witness his body breakdown too... His body was used to spurting big chunks of chakra during battle but it wasn't used to maintaining constant levels of chakra for days. Getting used to that steady flow of chakra and the jutsu he was learning was threatening him to exhaustion. How did Yuki do it? She seemed so at ease with it. Then again... girls seemed to be so much better at controlling chakra.

"Maybe controlling the chakra this way is the same as trying to control chakra to walk up a tree... A steady, controlled, outflow of chakra..." he thought absently as he began to dig a hole in the ground for the fire. He left off in search of dry firewood, still thinking.He kept on going, thinking of all his past lessons of chakra control. Once he had dumped the wood he collected into the hole he had made, he started a fire. The image of the fire made something jump into his mind. Goukakyuu no jutsu. _It was the same, wasn't it?_ Only it'd be something like... spitting. Naruto smiled in anticipation and took a ready position.

He closed his mind to the world as he focused his chakra to his mouth. He made the one-handed seal and then let out a bullet of air from his mouth, air that was mixed with his own chakra. He 'saw' it run off, increasing its velocity along the way, ending its course with hitting a tree with the force of a full-powered punch. Naruto saw that it had made a _huge_ dent on the tree at closer inspection. _Oh YEAH! _Naruto wanted to scream and shout in happiness but instead delighted himself with running around the clearing, up and down the trees, flailing his arms in the air. Screaming would've been much better, but much more risky since they were so close to the village. Even _he_ wasn't _that_ silly. Yuki stepped in just as Naruto finished one round up the tree.

"Naruto-kun?" She saw his teeth flash before something was shot her way. She dodged expertly and looked up at him in surprise. In a moment of confusion, she had actually contemplated knocking him out but she noticed what that attack was. She turned around to look at the damage it had done. There was a big dent in the tree. Suddenly she felt a surge of pride exploding in her.

"That was brilliant!" she praised. Naruto flashed her a peace sign before snickering at his own obvious pleasure. "That was really good, Naruto-kun! Now... on to the next level."

"Huuuuhhhh!" Naruto's jaws practically dropped to the ground. "There's more!"

Yuki gave him a playful wink and said, "Of course! That just makes it even more interesting, right? But! We'll eat first." Naruto jumped again in glee as he sat down and let Yuki prepare her catch.

"Hey, Yuki-chan," Naruto said through a mouthful of food. Yuki thought it was incredibly adorable the way Naruto did that. Chuckling, she took off her mask to dig in to her own portion. "What else is there to kaze no jutsu?"

"You see, Naruto-kun," she said. "What you've just accomplished is only a part of releasing the jutsu in a forced manner. The next stage is to learn to _allow_ your chakra to flow through you. Pretty soon you'll be able to create gusts of wind or just plain breeze." Yuki stopped eating for a moment and demonstrated, making sure that she wasn't blowing in the direction of the Hidden Snow village.

"How many more stages are there?" Naruto asked curiously.

"Well, you see... just learn how to create a gust of wind first alright? Then I'll tell you about the next stages." Yuki was smiling when she said this. Naruto pouted at her but she simply ignored it and continued eating.

"Yuki-chan... why do you wear a mask like Kakashi-sensei?" the blonde boy asked. Yuki froze at that question. "You look so much prettier without it." Naruto didn't manage to catch his words before it came out of his mouth and he blushed. Yuki smiled a little.

"I- I suppose it's a way I use to protect myself. I-... I was always used to hiding behind my anbu mask. It's... not an easy transition."

"I see..." Naruto said thoughtfully. "But don't you ever get tired of it? Well, I still think you're prettier without it." Yuki blushed at that and Naruto snickered. _That cad_! He tried to make her blush _on purpose_. Yuki threw him an exasperated look. Well, Naruto really had grown, didn't he? He wasn't so much the simpleton he used to be. He maintained his old habits and had picked up new ones.

Naruto was up and kicking less than half-an-hour later after they cleaned up all their tracks.

"Are you ready to get into the village?"

"It's going to be cold isn't it?" he asked, critically assessing her lack of garments. Yuki was still garbed in her vest and shorts. "You're going to die of frostbite!"

"No, I won't," she answered defiantly, making a face as she carefully put her mask back on; but she knew full well that Naruto was right. She had forgotten to bring a proper change of clothes. Yuki mentally scolded herself for having _another_ slip up. No matter. They could always shop for clothes there anyway. "Naruto-kun. If we go at the same speed we did this morning, we'll be able to reach the village's defense corps boundaries in another half-an-hour. Before then we'll need to use henge no jutsu to transform to something less conspicuous. Once we reach the gate-"

"You're starting to sound like Shikamaru..." Naruto was giving her an odd look, she just waved it off and continued with her instructions.

"Once we reach the gate," she began again. "We head towards the village motel to check in. We go scouting. If we get separated, we rendezvous at our room at sunset." Naruto was listening intently to her. "Then we go retrieve the scroll at the office near the school. We leave the village tomorrow at first light."

"Hey, Yuki..." She knew what he was going to ask for. She nearly laughed. He did so in a lot of his missions with the other ninjas that were his friends. Even to that lazy bum, Shikamaru, who always found it less of a hassle to say 'yes' instead of 'no'.

"Yes, Naruto-kun. We'll go find a ramen restaurant before we check into a motel." Naruto was jumping up and down at her permission. "But, Naruto... you promise to listen to me?"

"I promise!" he said, looking at her with admiring puppy-dog eyes. Yuki sighed in mock-exasperation. What would she do without Naruto's antics? Even watching them from afar as she used to, it was a great source of both irritation and entertainment. It made life interesting.

**The** plan went along well so far. Yuki had praised Naruto for his compliancy and ordered an extra ramen for him to be sent up that night. Of course, Naruto was overjoyed at that.

Naruto volunteered to take the watch outside the school as Yuki would retrieve the scroll. It was a relatively easy task... until ninja look-outs started popping out of nowhere. Really, they just _popped up_ for some obscure reason. Did they know that there were infiltrators there? Naruto gulped down in panic and created a clone to stand watch outside while he ran inside the school to get Yuki to hurry. Hallway after hallway. It was getting too confusing until he burst into a room where _two glowing red eyes_ looked up at him. It vanished. What the-?

"Naruto-kun?" It was only Yuki. But those red eyes. Did those red eyes belong to her? "Naruto-kun!" she hissed, snapping him out of his astonishment.

"Ninjas outside the school," he said quickly. Yuki rolled the scroll she just just reading quickly and followed him outside. "I saw five ninjas the last time I checked. My shadow clone tells me that there are more than that."

"Dispel that jutsu," Yuki told him.

"Done."

"We need to get back at the motel, quickly," she hissed as they reached outside the school. There were ninjas everywhere. Best leave before they were surrounded. "Hurry, Naruto-kun." Boy, did the taijutsu training do the trick. They were running at their top speed, though not as fast as Lee or Gai could ever go, heck, just _what_ sort of ninja _could compete_ with _those_ two taijutsu-geniuses? They were back at the motel in a jiff, but not before a ninja had picked up their trail.

They tried to look unconcerned as they entered the motel in their disguise, walking casually slow. They had switched their genders and had registered there as a married couple. Walking unconcernedly slow... Once no one was looking they rushed into their rooms and overlapped their transformation with another and dove under the covers. The sounds of coming ninja was getting slightly alarming.

Naruto snuggled his female form to Yuki's male body and evened out his breathing. _It was the oldest trick in the book._

When somebody had rudely opened the door, male-Yuki's head snapped up as glared at the intruder in anger, holding female-Naruto closer. On seeing the intimate scene, the intruder muttered a few embarrassed apologies before finally shutting the door. Once the footsteps had faded away, Yuki released her hold on Naruto and jumped off the bed. Naruto did the same and released his jutsu, as did Yuki.

"T-that was close," he huffed, looking on one side of the room's wall. Yuki nodded in silent agreement, she was breathing heavily, too. "They managed to catch up with us so fast."

"We were walking pretty slowly back up to the room," she pointed out. Naruto nodded.

"You have the scroll?" Yuki tossed it over to him.

"We'll learn it as we go back... that's _after _we reach the safety of Konoha's boundaries. Go get some sleep. We're leaving early tomorrow." Naruto gulped and prepared for sleep. Sure, some he'd been nearly caught in some missions but that was _too close_. Those ninjas came out of nowhere.

Meanwhile, Yuki's mind was reeling with worries and question. Did Naruto see her eyes? Was he going to ask about it? Would he ask about it? Was he going to tell anyone? Did he even notice the different color of her eyes then? Maybe he didn't. But what if he did? That was too close.

Naruto fell asleep feeling troubled. Yuki looked like she had dozed off immediately, but he was left half-awake thinking of those red eyes. Red eyes. Those red eyes that seemed so familiar. Eyes like Kurenai-sensei. Kakashi-sensei. Sasuke... Itachi. Like the _sharingan_. Who was Yuki really?


	7. Confrontation

Disclaimer: Naruto belongs to Kishimoto Masashi, contents of the following text only serve entertainment purposes.

AN: This chapter has been re-edited.

This chapter: Secret's out.

**Chapter: Confrontation**

**Naruto** was oddly quiet on the return journey. Sure, he practiced the kaze no jutsu and talked to her once in a while. But he was quiet. Yuki suspected that he... that he actually might've seen her when her sharingan had turned on. The night she first read the scroll... the scroll had shown so much information that her sharingan had immediately turned on and 'copied' the information. She basically knew how the jutsu worked, and could probably carry it out -but it was too much of a bother- but instead of destroying the scroll as was told, she held on to it while Naruto was still digesting the information. She didn't know just how he could do it, reading up one jutsu, practicing another, but he seemed alright with it so... that was that.

"_Yesss!_" Yuki heard Naruto yell as the leaves of the next tree rustled. She felt a gust of wind and smiled.

"That's great Naruto-kun!" she praised him. Silently she was glad that this level of the jutsu went easier with him. He'd ripped up a couple of tree a few days earlier when he was still getting used to the first level. Naruto was jumping up and down at the 'victory'. It was alright to get all hyperactive then as they were already on safe territory. "Now, the next stage!" Naruto jumped over to her and listened with rapt attention. Yuki smiled to herself, feeling pleased at his eager attention, and a little embarrassed by it too, he had such a cute innocent look on his face. Naruto no longer looked tired from the journey, but then again, Yuki had slowed down their pace significantly as they reached the Konoha borders. It was now taking longer to return to Konoha from the Hidden Snow village than it had taken to get there. "Now that you've mastered the two stages, this is the third. You'll have to create pockets of air." Naruto looked dumbfounded.

Yuki grinned at him through her mask as she proceeded to demonstrate. "If you see properly, Naruto-kun, you'll know I made little pillows of air." She was jumping around in mid-air. At first glance it was as though she was flying, but Naruto took her advice and looked carefully. It was true. He saw compressed bits of particles gathering around her feet mixed with her chakra and the 'pillows' were 'bouncing' her up. The pillows stood still for only a second or so, which was why she had to keep jumping around. It 'popped' after a little bit. "You've learned how to concentrate blowing air during the first two stages, now you'll have to learn how to create compressions in the air of your surroundings to your advantage. In my case, I've made them through my feet, which is why I am jumping around like this." She jumped back down next to Naruto and put a hand near his cheek. Naruto felt a swelling of pressure and as Yuki pressed her hand closer, there was a sort of feeling as though she was pressing something feathery against him. It felt quite pleasant really.

"You've learnt the rasengan technique," she stated. "I guess you could imagine it a bit like that, only instead of using your chakra as a separate element, you mix it with the air. Like what you did with the 'air bullet'." It was getting a whole lot confusing but Naruto eventually got it.

"So this air pocket will let me jump like you did?"

"Only for a second or so, but Naruto-kun, you've got higher levels of chakra than I do, so yours might last longer." Naruto yelped happily at this and immediately put his hands out in front of him, eagerly. But then he stopped and a flash of confusion made its way through to his eyes. Yuki twitched. _What was wrong?_ The two stood still as the trees and waited for a reaction from each other.

"Yuki-chan?" Naruto finally looked at her. Yuki felt her throat tighten. _Why was Naruto looking so lost?_

"Yes?"

"Before we go..." Naruto shifted on his feet. His eyes twitched and he wouldn't look at her. Yuki was curious as to what could've made the reaction but she kept quiet. Waiting for him to say something. But he wouldn't say anything. Yuki took a step forward and guessed at what was making him look distressed.

"You saw it, didn't you?" Yuki thought out loud, giving Naruto a weary look. Naruto nodded slowly. "Yes, I have the sharingan eyes." There. It was out. But Naruto didn't look all that surprised, so of course he really must've seen it. Of course, right? The confusion was gone from his eyes as he looked curiously at her. There was that blank look again.

"Are you related to Sasuke?" Yuki nearly choked. She'd thought that he was going to wait for an explanation from her, but he made that step forward by himself. "Yuki-...?"

"I don't know if I'm related to anyone..." Yuki said in a somber tone. "Kakashi is only my adopted brother. He, too, has a sharingan eye, and you know that, but I don't know exactly how he got it. Naruto-kun..."

"Oh noooo!" Naruto suddenly bellowed, nearly knocking Yuki off her feet. "Didn't you get assigned to be instructor for the new gennins?" Yuki nodded and wondered what had caused the sudden turn in discussion. It hit her. Konoha was three days away. "Assignments begin in two days!"

**Lucky** for them, they reached Konoha sometime in the afternoon two days later, Yuki was late but she had to stop for a second to burn the scroll after Naruto had finished going through it. Naruto had volunteered to report to the Hokage for them both so she was ran at a hurried pace towards the Academy's class. Iruka was waiting for her.

"Aah... nice to see you decided to stop by today," he teased as she dragged herself towards him. "Hatake Fuyu Yuki?" Yuki nodded and stopped to catch her breath. She was just not cut out for normal running. Especially after that dash they had made to get to Konoha 'on time'. "I thought so. You Hatakes must have inherited some tardy gene of some sort."

"I'm sorry, Iruka-sensei," she said, still gasping, missing the teasing note in his voice.

"It's alright," Iruka said, chuckling as he patted her on her back. "The Hokage informed us that you might be a little late in coming. Where's Naruto-kun?"

"Reporting at Tsunade-sama's office right now." Iruka smiled at her as she quickly composed herself. Yuki smiled weakly back as she entered the classroom. Three midgets looked up at her, scowling. She sighed. How was she going to handle these children? She hadn't been around any in... well, she'd never been around much of _any_ of the villagers of any age much. The three were scowling something bad. Yuki sighed heavily.

**She** ended her first day with the new ninja graduates early in the evening and decided to head over at Ichiraku. She knew that Naruto would also be there. She walked at a steady pace as she thoughtfully contemplated the statuses of her ninja graduates. If they passed the survival drill, they'd be gennins. More than that, they'd be _her_ gennins. Sure, she'd observed her brother for so long she should, theoretically be able to handle the little ninjas. But, she just wasn't sure if the gennins would cooperate with her. They sure didn't take it too well after she arrived late, _and_ that she was only as old as most of the chuunins in the village. Yuki sighed heavily and kept on walking in the direction of the ramen stand. True enough, Naruto _was_ at Ichiraku, and Iruka-sensei was with him. Yuki smiled as they recognized her figure. She ducked into the ramen stand and sat on Naruto's other side.

"Yuki-chan!" Naruto garbled through the mass of half-masticated noodles in his mouth. Both Iruka and Yuki laughed at the sight. "Tsunade-baba said that you're still to teach me _that_ skill. Tsunade-baba said that you might already know how to do it and wants you to teach me," he said happily. Yuki chuckled at that. Offering to teach Naruto new skills almost seemed like offering him the child's equivalent of a mountain-full of candy. "Seems like you'll be my instructor for a little while." Yuki gave a little chuckle again and patted him on the back.

"Anytime, Naruto-kun." Naruto grinned at her and then returned his attention towards his ramen. Yuki kept quiet as the blonde talked about the mission to Iruka. Exaggerated was more like it, but Yuki hadn't had the heart to interrupt him. She was looking at the pair in awe. The scene was so touching. They were like father and son. Or brothers. It didn't matter, only that they were so close with one another. She felt like an intruder sitting with them. But she couldn't move from her seat. Naruto had a hand on her arm. "But why?" she thought, looking down at his hand. He had quite a strong grip. She didn't want to interrupt the scene in front of her so she waited until Naruto would relax his grip so she could slip away. His hand loosened after a bit. "Ja. I'll be going back now," she mumbled, rising form her seat.

"Why don't you stay and eat?" Iruka offered, but Yuki only smiled and shook her head in apology.

"Kakashi-niichan's probably home already," she said. Naruto nodded in understanding. He didn't look disturbed at all that she'd only moved when he took his hand off her arm. Maybe he didn't realize that he was holding on to her. "We'll talk later... Naruto-kun?" Their eyes met with mutual understanding. There was still the issue of the sharingan that needed to be talked out. Naruto nodded in consent. Iruka watched the interaction with interest. Yuki said her goodbyes to both of them and left the stall. They watched her walk away.

"Naruto-kun. Is she your girl-friend?"

"_What!_"

Yuki heard the scream from far away and wondered at what caused it. Shrugging she continued walking back home. She didn't see Naruto coming out of Ichiraku, holding Iruka by the collar, looking like a tomato that was about to burst.

**Later** that night she found her way to Naruto's home, thinking that she would be seeing only him. She had asked Kakashi to go and find the rest of the team members so she could show them her sharingan. She didn't think that they'd stand it if she'd asked to keep it only between her and Naruto. They might alienate Naruto for that, and she didn't want that to happen. Also, she wasn't sure if she should show her byakugan to them just yet. Gingerly pacing outside his doorstep, she held fast to her resolve of telling them and knocked. The door was opened and she walked in. But instead of finding Naruto alone, she found the rest of them too, both Sakura and Sasuke, waiting for something, apparently, as they were pacing the sides of the living room.

"Sorry, Yuki-chan. I- I didn't think it would be fair if only I knew and they didn't-" Naruto was stuttering nervously as he closed the door and followed her into his living room.

"It's alright, Naruto-kun. I just asked Kakashi-niichan to look for these two. Nevermind. He'll come here in a bit." Yuki didn't move from her spot near the door as she looked at the other two. They looked surprise to see her. She locked eyes with the dark-haired Uchiha and froze. He hated her. Yuki felt herself take a step back at sensing his aura. He was disgusted with her.

"Is this what you told us to wait for?" Sasuke spitted out angrily. He looked very pissed at seeing her there. Hell, he felt like murdering someone. Why would Naruto let that... _betrayer_ in his presence? Naruto knew full well that he didn't trust people like her. Lying to him once was enough to shatter any bond of trust they'd had between them. "You should know better than to waste my time, _dobe_." He felt like punching the wall till it broke and crashed the ceiling down to the apartment. Sasuke growled as he left off his pacing and angrily made his way to the only exit before he could do damage to anyone.

"Sasuke-teme!" Naruto snarled as he blocked Sasuke's way to the door. "I knew you still had something against her, but I wouldn't've called you here if I didn't think you'd be interested."

"Well, I'm not interested." Sasuke's expression, instead of showing his normal mask of indifference, was filled with loath and disgust. Yuki felt like running away right then and there. Why was he still angry with her? Normal people, at least, would have resigned to the fact that she _had_ to lie to them. At least, she thought that normal people would. Then again, Sasuke wasn't normal, was he? Right now he was glaring at Naruto warily, and looking at her... with that look. Those eyes... it was the same. Naruto shuddered at that. The way he was looking at Yuki... it was similar to how... to how _those_ people used to look at him. The same loathing. The same disgust. Naruto retaliated to it furiously. How dare he look at her like that!

"Please stop it..." Sakura pleaded from the back-ground. Strangely enough, the tiny cry had cooled them down a bit. Naruto was still seething but was grudgingly stepping out of his way. Sasuke had another obstacle to go through, though. Yuki was still blocking the doorway.

"Move." But she wouldn't.

"No." She repeated the word inside her head to strengthen her resolve. She'd tell him now. She'd tell them all now. Even if she had to pin Sasuke to the ground to get him to listen, she'd tell them now.

"I said, _move!_" Sasuke punctuated the last word by activating his sharingan. Even jounin ninjas would flinch at the sight of the sharingan, but Yuki never even missed a beat. Sasuke wondered briefly why... then settled on the fact that... well, she _was_ an anbu. That was why she kept her arm covered in cloth, wasn't it? He narrowed his eyes at that. She was an anbu. An _anbu_. They were nearly the same age but she _had_ _been_ an _anbu_. Jealous anger seeped into his mind, confusing his thoughts for a few precious moments. He noticed the girl in front of him twitch. He smirked arrogantly. Maybe that was why they demoted her to jounin. If she couldn't even stand the sight of his sharingan... But she didn't even flinch when he used it in the forest...

Yuki stepped forward and repeated her answer just as menacingly, an unpredicted twist, but Sasuke wasn't about to be put down. Sasuke stepped forward, too, furious that she hadn't heeded him. _How dare she! _But he received the shock of his life when he witnessed her eyes brighten in color. It brightened slowly, it took place in less than a second but to Sasuke it felt like minutes. From maroon to a bright, clear, blood-shade of red. Three black spots appeared in one eye. Two in the other.

Sasuke felt his world start spinning when it dawned to him that it was the sharingan. It was the _sharingan_. It was an almost developed pair of sharingan. And it was Yuki's. _Yuki's_. How...? The sharingan with four commas was met with five. Sasuke nearly tripped backwards. Surprise was an understatement. He was shocked. Hatake Yuki. This was _Hatake_ Yuki with _two_ sharingan eyes. Sasuke didn't move, fearing the dream in front of him would disappear.

Yuki, on the other hand, was extremely pissed off. A nerve had popped up in her head when she turned on the bloody eye-skill. Her head was throbbing now. Never had she ever met with a more overbearing lout! Did he really think he could scare her from just a glance of the sharingan! Just who did he think he is? He was a chuunin trying to provoke a jounin. Well, she'd show him! She'd show him that she wasn't scared of him. She'd show him that she wasn't afraid of what they thought about her. Just as long as they all knew. Even if she was hesitant to reveal her other bloodline. At least they'd know about this part of her. Sasuke worked so hard to keep her safe from that missing-nin, Kuma, when she could've dealt with him herself. At least, _he_ deserved to know.

Sasuke knew he was beat. She'd captured his curiosity. Damn her. But he wanted to know. Who she was? He'd only met two other persons with at least one fully developed sharingan eye - his brother, Itachi and his instructor, Kakashi. He had fought Itachi once and had sunk into a coma. He was stronger now... but the sight of the sharingan was too unanticipated. So surprising that it didn't seem _real_. Sasuke turned his eyes away and made his way back into the room, looking calm. But his heart was beating erratically. His thoughts were muddled up in a big confused tangle. Who was Yuki? Why did she have the bloodlimit? He surprised himself that he didn't feel angry at that. Once again, she had not revealed the truth to them. To _him_. Not Kakashi, not her. They _both_ hadn't revealed it to him. Why didn't they? He was an Uchiha damn it. Only Uchihas had that bloodlimit. Not that he knew where Kakashi had got his sharingan but... All this while he'd lived not knowing there was another... survivor... He _deserved_ to know.

Sasuke felt the beginnings of a head ache and placed two fingers to his temple and applied pressure. No, he wasn't angry. He wanted to feel angry. But curiosity had won him over. _Why_ did they never reveal to him? Yuki was around all this while. _All this while_. He'd thought that he hadn't any other relations. And there she was. Two sharingan eyes, as you please. He would've appreciated it if they'd known each other earlier. He had a _relative_. Someone from his family, other that damned brother of his, had escaped the holocaust. Yuki. _Damn it_. Who was she? Where had she _been_ all that time? He stopped asking himself those questions when the apartment began spinning in his eyes. He willed himself to stop thinking about it as he walked away from Yuki, back to the opposite side of the room. Once he reached the opposite side of the apartment, he looked back at her. She hadn't moved.

"So which side are you from? I thought Itachi killed everyone." Sasuke tried to force the anger back in his voice but found that he couldn't. He winced when he realized that his tone sounded only curious. But this calm curiosity unnerved Yuki.

"Well you're still alive, aren't you?" she snapped back. Glaring at the wall instead, she closed the door. The two took their sharingans away. Both Naruto and Sakura were shocked. Naruto hadn't ever seen it up close before, but now that he had seen it, and though he knew about it... it was still shocking. Sakura was like a statue still trying to digest the information. "In any case, I don't know who my parents are, only that I was found by a bush. Happy?" Sasuke mentally winced at her sharp words. He was immediately sorry for his actions.

"Yuki-chan..." It was Naruto that had called her. Her gaze softened. "Yuki-chan, do you want to go out for ramen with me tomorrow?" Yuki felt like an anvil had just dropped on her head. _Why was Naruto talking about ramen now? What in the world was he thinking? Bringing up that completely irrelevant subject-_

"I'm sorry, Naruto-kun. I have those kids to test tomorrow, but I'll see you at the training grounds tomorrow evening. I still have to teach you-" What in the world was Naruto thinking? Then again... this blonde did have his quirks...

"Oh yeah! There was another thing!" Whatever possessed Naruto to ask about eating out was gone. Yuki cocked her head to the side. "I wanted to ask you if you could teach Sakura-chan and Sasuke the kaze no jutsu too."

"If they want to. I'll be at the training grounds every night." She shrugged at that. Trying very hard to show that it didn't matter to her either way. What did it matter if Sasuke was going to hang around a lot more? If wanted to stay angry with her, fine. Just as long as he didn't get in her way.

"I see. So they're all here," Kakashi said as he appeared at the window, reading that dratted Come Come Paradise book. At least, he looked as if he was reading it. "Have you all done?" he asked when the silence became too loud. The four young adults were mutely staring at each other. "Oh, that reminds me, Naruto-kun, Sakura-chan. I've got something to discuss with you." That sounded peculiar, but the other two didn't object. They left the room, leaving Sasuke and Yuki alone, no longer glaring at each other. Only looking.

At first, Yuki was taken aback. She was suddenly looking at the person she had met in the forest. There was that... she didn't know exactly how to describe it, but there was _life_ in his eyes. Not anger. Not hostility. Not that peculiar curiosity that she had been looking at. It was like... when they were back in the forest. Sasuke that was fighting to come out.

"You know..." Yuki started. Her expression also softening, getting herself trapped in his gaze as unwanted feelings flooded through her. Even through his previous anger, his heart was pumping something bad. His breathing quickened when the moonlight chose to light up part of her face. The light complimented her. Her pale features. If possible, she had even paler skin than himself. The moonlight made it seem almost... surreal.

"_Damn it, Yuki!_" he was thinking to himself. "How dare you put these feelings inside me!" There he went again with his irrational anger. The moonlight continued to play on her features, creating havoc in his mind. No. He couldn't feel this way. He didn't want to. He wanted to. He shouldn't want to. His mind was an emotional mess. How could she confuse him that way! Before she came... Sasuke almost felt like growling but... her features were so... delicate. The moon complimented her eyes and that skin. That soft skin. He looked at her hungrily, almost not daring to breath. It must've been a dream. Just a dream. Sasuke bit his inner cheek and nearly yelped, swallowing the taste of blood. But the dream wouldn't go away.

Yuki jerked herself back to reality. They'd been staring at each other... for how long? How in the world did she let her guard down just like that? _Damn that Uchiha_. She understood the appeal of the Uchihas so long ago. It was their line of sight. Their _eyes_ that gave them their beauty. _Beauty?_ Yuki mentally spat at herself for thinking so. But... it was... just so. Those Uchiha eyes commanded respect. They commanded attention. She'd known, she'd learnt that so long ago, and yet... her mind refused to turn away from the potential danger. The Hyuuga's seemingly pupil-less eyes would've drawn curiosity, and when enemies would be so busy trying to stare the secrets out of them, the Hyuugas would finish them off. The Uchihas on the other had... their eyes had a sensual character that... _demanded_ attention. Captured attention. It created hallucinations within people's minds just when they looked at those eyes. Enemies wouldn't even know that they'd had no chance of escape until... until it was too late. Such were the terrifying consequences of being the victim of an Uchiha.

She shuddered and stepped back to him, breathing evenly to try and calm her rapidly-beating heart. She thought that she'd better go before she forgot that she had those Uchiha eyes too. Like that last time... it cost her dearly. She turned her back to him. "I've got a class tomorrow morning."

**She** left Sasuke thinking about her. Yuki with her graceful, sylphlike form leaving the room. Yuki with her soft expressions. Yuki with her angry sharingan eyes looking at him. Yuki who could be related to him. _Yuki_. _Could she be related to him?_ Well, she should be. She must be.

Sasuke left the apartment, in a rush to head back to his house. There were some old family records left... _maybe_... Just maybe.

But Sasuke was still preoccupied with thoughts of _her_. She'd invaded his mind after he first saw her. He nearly lost his control over his own thoughts those few days they were together. That was why... when she left them... he'd been so relieved. He'd been so hurt. And when she decided to make an appearance again... he was... happy. He was relieved. And frustrated. And angry that she'd decided to appear and invade his mind yet again. And yet he seemed calmer when she was around. No one would deny that. Yuki had a very calming presence around her. He was so occupied with conflicting thoughts that he had hardly noticed the three figures on the roof beside the apartment building.

"Kakashi-sensei," Sakura said, tugging a little on his sleeve. "Do you think that maybe... that maybe Sasuke-kun likes Yuki-chan?" The blonde looked stunned, horrified even. They'd only just been briefed about Kakashi's and Sasuke's coming mission and... Was Sakura paying attention to him? She had her eyes looking down at the apartment the whole while... while she was nodding and 'yeah, ok'-ing at Kakashi. Then again... the sequence at the apartment was quite the interesting turn of events. Naruto felt a little jealous when she made her comment. How could Sasuke like Yuki? Didn't he practically announce his dislike for her? Why was Sakura looking at him funny? "You too, Naruto-kun?"

"What!" he reacted initially, a blush making its way up his cheek. Sakura was looking at him with such an accusing look that Naruto knew that he'd been found out. "I uh.. I.. err.. maybe..." he said, blushing a bright red. Kakashi turned a bored eye to the two and then looked back to where Sasuke had gone. That was quite an interesting thought... he had been toying with it lately but... if Sakura could see it too...

"Sorry, Naruto-kun," he thought. "She's already decided on one person."

**Yuki **walked towards the direction of the training grounds _devastated_ the next evening. She failed her first students that day. They just couldn't understand the concept of teamwork. They were too obedient. Too naive. Yuki was depressed. It was her 'first' actual assignment, to become instructor. It felt thoroughly depressing to have failed her first batch of students. She stopped walking when she saw a suspicious shadow blocking her path. When she looked up she saw Sasuke looking intently at her. Those eyes again.

"What do you want?" she asked, trying desperately to sound tough when all she wanted to do was curl up in a blanket and feel sorry for the children she had to reject that day. She didn't really want to engage in an argument or whatever it is the Uchiha might want from her. She really wasn't paying attention to much of anything, especially to what the Uchiha was saying to her. Or even the fact that he was _actually_ talking _to_ her. He was muttering something about 'family records'. "Oh, sorry, I didn't catch what you said?"

The Uchiha looked a little annoyed. _Really_. He'd actually _bothered_ to talk to her and now here she was, _not paying attention to him?_

"I _said_ that I have some family records you might want to know about. You said you didn't know anything about your past?" The tone of his voice was calm, though it didn't hide that initial burst of irritation. But Yuki wasn't in her mind to notice anyway.

"Not that much," she answered, shrugging. Might as well entertain him. Whatever. Yuki turned around and started walking, following him to... wherever it was that he said they were going. His home? Naruto caught sight of them from a distance and stopped when he saw Sasuke in front of _her_. He was actually on his way to meet up with Yuki.

"Hey! _Sasuke_! You better not be bugging Yuki-chan!" he yelled as he ran towards them.

"Accosting females on the street is just not my style, idiot." Sasuke tried to put as much acid as he could in his voice to ward him off. He wanted some time alone with that purple haired-jounin. No blonde idiot was going to stop him.

"You jerk!" Yuki stepped in front of Naruto to prevent him from attacking Sasuke. That would normally eventually end up with Naruto face-down on the ground. She didn't want that to happen. Not another depressing note to her day.

"It's alright, Naruto-kun," she said putting her hand forward to catch his kick, but was surprised when she found that it wasn't needed. Naruto stopped _just_ before it connected. There was something strange that erupted between her hands and his foot. It was... soft. Yuki's eyes widened in astonishment. "Naruto-kun, have you been practicing?" Naruto jumped up and down in glee, apparently having forgotten his irritation with Sasuke.

"I just found out how to do it this morning. Look!" Naruto performed the jutsu and was now jumping from position to position in mid air, supported by only his chakra. Sasuke watched it with a hidden curiosity. "See? Yuki-chan!"

"That's great!" Yuki praised him for having accomplished the third stage. He was advancing much faster than she thought. "Keep on practicing till you get all your chakra control down to perfect."

"Yuki-chan! Was that it? No more stages? Have I mastered it completely?" Yuki was almost sorry to burst his bubble.

"You see, Naruto-kun... This next stage is a little more difficult. Chakra control in the earlier stages are important. You've got to learn how to throw that 'air pillow'." Yuki stepped back. He looked interested, so maybe it was better to demonstrate it to him. It'd take her mind off the depression anyway. If even for a short while. "It's like throwing shurikens." Yuki demonstrated, making sure that Naruto could properly see her chakra as she took position and threw the 'pillow' from her hand towards a tree. It sliced through a leaf. Something happened, the air picked up a little around the cut part of the leaf to make it float back on to the ground. "The 'pillow' that you throw is actually pretty sharp around the edges and it explodes just as it slices into something. It made a little whirlwind that made that part of the leaf float."

"Okay," Naruto was sitting on the ground, thinking hard. He was recapping what he had gone through so far. The first stage was the 'air bullet'. At the second stage he learn to make a gust of wind - a gale even if he tried hard enough. Well, he had tried pretty hard once, but Yuki had interrupted him before he could blow it all out, saying that he'd whip out a typhoon if he did. At the third stage he learnt to jump on 'air pillows'. Now in this fourth stage, he'd have to learn to use the 'pillow' as a shuriken. "Hey, Yuki-chan... what is this all leading to? How many stages really are there?" Yuki smiled. Naruto was really thinking now.

"Wait a minute, Sasuke-kun," Yuki said. She called him Sasuke-kun. Sasuke-kun. "Follow me, Naruto-kun, And I'll show you the last stage." Both the boys perked up with interest as they followed her to the training grounds. Before she started, she made sure that no one else was around. Good thing that she'd have a chance to demonstrate. Maybe she'd take it all out on that tree... Maybe it'd help her get rid of that slump. Maybe. Just take it _all_ out on that tree. "Stay close to the ground," she instructed. "But keep your eyes on everything, alright?" They were at the edge of the grounds, facing the forest that was the other side of the huge clearing. Yuki took a stance, her feet slightly apart and her right hand on a seal. "Kaze no jutsu!"

They could barely see what she was doing but they could see what was happening on the edge of the field. A tree was dented with what Naruto thought was caused by an 'air bullet' then it was immediately sliced off. The entire tree was sliced off, leaving a stump of about a foot high. While it was floating back to the ground, the whirlwind picked up, carrying the tree higher and higher, its velocity increasing, until the whirlwind just _stopped_. And the tree started faling, heading towards them. They could see the whirlwind that was carrying it now. It glowed an eerie blue color. Yuki released her chakra from the tree and let the tree fall to the ground. Using the 'air pillows' she jumped up until she was slightly above the tree and then used an 'air pillow' on her hand to hit the middle of the tree. It didn't look like it was effective from the top but she knew that the other side of the tree had just exploded. Like that rasengan technique. Only not as powerful. The tree was in two pieces now, and it landed on either side of the two boys. They looked up at her in stunned terror. If the tree was a person instead...

"Yes, it's a dangerous jutsu when used improperly," she said as she squatted down to their level. _That was relieving_. "It's a kinjutsu really, but I know you can handle it Naruto-kun. What I just did was a severe attack of a combination of stages. You can control your chakra levels to modify the effects of the jutsu. That's it for now. Practice throwing the 'pillow' like a shuriken, okay?"

"Okay," said Naruto. He looked both terrified and eager. If such a look were possible. Yuki was immediately sorry for letting her anger burst out.

"Naruto-kun, don't worry about it. You'll be able to perform even better than I can. This would be the second last stage. At the last stage I'll teach you how to make a whirlwind." Naruto jumped about happily. Yuki smiled to herself at the immediate change. After satisfying herself that Naruto would be alright on his own, she turned to Sasuke who in turn started leading her away from the grounds.

"Where are you taking me?" she asked, breaking the silence. It had been eerily quiet since they'd left the grounds.

"To my house. The family records are kept there. Please follow me." Now that she'd noticed it, he sounded awfully patient and polite to her. What had happened?


	8. Discovering The Root

**Disclaimer: **Naruto & co. don't belong to me. They belong to Masashi Kishimoto.

A/N Umm... I know there have been reports that Kakashi got his sharingan eye from some sort of surgery. Let's just say I used a different idea for this fic alright? Would that make it an AU? err.. then again we don't know too much of Kakashi's past anyway. But it sort of tallies to what Itachi says in episode 81 about Kakashi... I think o.O; It doesn't matter if you haven't watched it, I don't think I put any spoilers here.

Stuff I created: Katon: Fire Dance no jutsu - it's the kinjutsu (forbidden jutsu) Yuki and Naruto had to retrieve from the Hidden Snow village.

**Chapter: Discovering the Root**

**"What?** So I'm female, therefore I can't kill people?" Yuki said heatedly as they stepped into the Uchiha manor. Sasuke ignored her as he took out his keys to open the door. Neither could remember what had started them arguing. It began only minutes into their walk to his house. After all the effort he made in trying to be nice, this just _had_ to come up. He was bitterly sorry for saying anything at all. "I'm a jounin, Sasuke. Unless you misunderstand the conditions to become a jounin, I don't see how my _killing_ people is a problem!" They were arguing about the time she killed Kuma at the forest.

"What I don't understand is how someone as pitifully weak as you could have become an anbu!" Sasuke bit back, though fully knowing he didn't really mean it. Dear god, he'd just seen her destroy a huge tree like it was nothing. But he wasn't about to lose this argument. Yuki was taking the act of murdering people too lightly. "You didn't even _try_ to hide when Naruto found you in the forest!"

"And what was I supposed to do? Pick up the body and run? Leaving a _careless_ trail of blood behind me? I think what I did was the best option I had without having to draw the four of you running around the forest to look for me, hence _wasting time_ on your mission!" she retorted. "I was supposed to _protect_ you not _hinder_ you, damn it!"

"You killed a ninja at that time, too?" Sasuke asked, narrowing his eyes. Yuki bit her tongue when she realized what she had just said. What was his problem anyway? Killing people was how she _lived_ for the past decade. It didn't matter whether she liked it or not. She stuck with the job because she _could_. Yuki snapped back, glaring defiantly at him. Why was he being such a _prick?_

"So what?" she asked challengingly. "It's not like _you've_ never tried to kill your brother, Uchiha Itachi."

"That's different," Sasuke barked right back at her.

"Oh? How different?" she asked coolly, crossing her hands in front of her. The action infuriated him even more.

"He killed the only family I had then and escaped. He deserves to be killed," he spat. So he was campaigning for rights for the missing-nin and enemy ninja not to be killed now, just because they hadn't killed his family? What kind of twisted logic was that? Since when did the Uchiha even start _campaigning_ for rights anyway?

"So he betrayed you and Konoha... many others have done the same." Yuki looked crossly at him. "You betrayed Naruto-kun once years ago. Do _you_ deserve to be killed?"

"Do I?" he challenged. The logic in the argument was starting to get confusing and Yuki knew it. Sasuke wasn't helping. All he had to do was to look at her with those damned dark eyes of his and _ everything_ started to become twisted. She decided to take another path.

"Are you getting a kick out of riling me up?" Yuki said, nearly shouting in his ear. Sasuke winced and headed over to a bookcase. They were now in the study room.

"I didn't do it intentionally," he said grudgingly. Maybe it was time to cool down. Sasuke didn't mean to start up the stupid argument but it had ticked him off when he found out that she could do something he couldn't. Ever since he found out that it was really Yuki that had killed Kuma, he'd been itching to fight her. To see where he stood. But the bitter fact was that she was jounin. And he was still chuunin. Damn. Even he still couldn't get his chakra level up to Kakashi's level _yet_. Kakashi could do four chidori. He could only do three. Of all the bitter facts. But Yuki was still Yuki. Though a Yuki with sharingan and was... "Then again, how would you feel after finding out that you actually have relatives - after thinking for _years_ that they'd all died?"

"I'd've felt grateful," Yuki sneered, missing the meaning of the content of his statement.

"_Well_," he huffed angrily, shoving an open book to her hands. "Your father is Uchiha Taka. He was banished from the family two years before I was born - before _we_ were born. They mentioned something about betrayal."

Yuki did not immediately grasp how fast the topic had changed and said, "Why doesn't that surprise me? It seems that the Uchihas have a history of betrayal in their blood." Sasuke's eyes narrowed and only then did she realize everything that was just said... What was it that he said? Her father was an Uchiha? And she was talking about... No way... she thought she saw... a glimpse of raw pain in his eyes. No. It couldn't have been. Uchiha Sasuke wouldn't have allowed anyone to see that he was in pain. Arrogant ba- but what she said was completely... "Sorry. I went too far." Yuki hung her head and blushed furiously. Sasuke turned away and blushed as well, not even bothering to cover his pink-tinged cheeks. Yuki was an eyeful when she blushed. To think that they were actually related. Yuki refused to look up at him and started skimming through the book to distract her attention from the awkward moment. "It says here that Uchiha Taka engaged himself to a girl but he was supposed to marry... someone else."

Sasuke didn't say anything so she decided to continue.

"So they banished him since he didn't want to break his promise to this other girl. He was never seen since. Labeled as a missing-nin."

"You have the sharingan," Sasuke stated. "Since I haven't found any records Uchiha children 'dying' around my birth year, or of any kidnappings, or anything else that is suspicious - this may be the only clue we have to your birthright."

"He was your father's second cousin." Yuki turned the page and fingered the picture of Uchiha Taka. Sasuke stared at her as she did that. She had a glazed look in her eyes. Like she was tearing up. She was blinking furiously too.

"You have his nose and cheekbones," Sasuke remarked, trying to get the awkward feelings from his chest. "There's nothing else to suggest otherwise so there's a large possibility that he could be-"

"My father," Yuki ended the sentence for him. She closed the book and looked up at him squarely, looking sheepish but resolute. "Thank you, Sasuke-kun."

"Don't thank me just yet. I still have no clue on who your mother could be." Yuki knew fully well from what family her mother would be but kept silent. She debated on telling him that. Telling him that would mean telling Naruto and Sakura too. Telling all three of them also meant telling the rest of Konoha ninjas. From those ninjas to the rest of the villages. The thought didn't appeal to her much. "Hi." Yuki blinked. He had offered his hand with a shy, almost grudging smile.

"Hi," she said right back at him, taking his hand in with a curious stare. He had that shy smile on his face. _Shy smile_. How unusual. How becoming. No, _don't_ think that way! But there was something so unusually innocent with the way he was looking at her. His eyes were glinting something new. There was a freshness about his look. A visual apology and request for reconciliation. Not for the first time, she was drawn to his eyes... damn those Uchiha eyes... It struck her. She understood the meaning behind the awkward behavior.

Sasuke was trying to say that he wanted a new beginning between them both. Another beginning.

She was suddenly looking at 'him'. The shy boy that desperately wanted a family. Someone to recognize him. That raven-haired youth seemed so akin to Naruto at that moment. Well, they'd always been akin to each other. But not so much like this moment. The boy that had lost his family so long ago... left all alone. No one to see him... not to truly _ see_ him. To the villagers he was _Uchiha_. Not Sasuke. He'd been hiding behind that name for so long... he'd lost himself. Yuki saw that. She knew that. It was a gut feeling, but she felt as though it were accurate. No, maybe he hadn't lost himself. He was still there... hiding behind those eyes. That shy boy. That little boy that wanted the warmth of a family. That _needed_ a family. Was that Sasuke?

It gripped her heart and bled it. She wanted to cry right then and there. This was the Sasuke that had been fighting to come out. Who knew why he'd chosen her to do it for. To let her see him fighting. Maybe it was that that had spurred the feelings they had for each other. Maybe somehow each knew that they were related. From that first moments together. Maybe that was what spurred all those emotions they had for each other. That he had for her. That she had for him. It felt a little disappointing, to Yuki. They locked eyes and smiled in mutual reconciliation and understanding. "So everything's alright?" She was referring to the status between them. Although she knew that it was still a little too early to see if he would forgive her-

"Yes. Everything's alright." He was smiling at her. Actually smiling, not sneering, not smirking. Just smiling. The day was actually starting to look better. For both of them.

**The** next day, Yuki woke up to the sound of clanging pans in the kitchens... and a smile. Something she thought she'd never do again in her entire life.. since she found out that Kakashi was adopting her. Well, that was one happy day... Yuki grinned as she stretched on her bed. Sitting up, she looked outside her window. The sky was clear. Perfect. Maybe now... everything will settle down. Maybe...

"Yuki-chan!" Kakashi called from their kitchen just as she stepped out of her bedroom. Yuki took a seat at the kitchen counter and looked over at her brother. "Yuki-chan, I'll be heading out on a mission with Sasuke-kun in a few hours. I've already explained everything to Naruto-kun and Sakura-chan. The Hokage requested that you train my squad whenever I'm away. Alright with that?" _Alright with that_? Yuki scoffed to herself. _At last!_ A few days without worrying about those god-damned books Kakashi kept on reading! Even if it felt really nice that she could spend time with her brother, it could still get so... annoying!

"Alright." Kakashi had avoided mentioning her failing her students. Lucky for him, it seemed to be the last thing on her mind. He knew it'd be tough on her if he brought that up in the morning. She'd been so depressed the day before... that is, before she'd met up with Sasuke. "I've got to teach Naruto that kinjutsu anyway. Whatever is Tsunade-sama thinking?"

"She told me that some people have come to her with disturbing reports. She didn't tell me exactly of what, but she thinks that the winds are picking up and are heading for a change. She just wants as many leaf-nin as ready as possible."

"I thought it might be that way, since I was sent to retrieve the scroll," Yuki remarked. But _ready_ for _what_? What was there to be ready for? Life had not been much more peaceful that it had been the last few years. What could've possibly alarmed Tsunade enough to actually get her to teach forbidden jutsus to chuunins?

"What happened on that mission anyway? You didn't tell me the whole story." Kakashi was referring to the previous mission she had with Naruto. Yuki went over the main points happily but when she got to the part where they were nearly caught, she turned red. _How could anyone be so slow?_ "Yuki-chan, you're turning red."

"I... I-" she choked, feeling steam go through her ears. Did she and Naruto really do that? "I-it didn't s-seem so... at that time..." She then, choking out all the words, told him what had happened. Kakashi had the _nerve_ to laugh as her discomfort! "_Kakashi-niichan!_"

"Well, you're all grown up now. Old enough to make your own decisions. Old enough for your own choice of bed partners..." he teased. Yuki protested again. And then she turned quiet. "Is there anything else, Yuki-chan?" He still had that teasing note to his voice. But he turned serious at the slight look of worry on Yuki's face.

"Sasuke just told me yesterday..." Huh? So it had to do with Sasuke? What did Sasuke do now? With Naruto, it had to be something or other... but then Yuki'd never really opened the subject of Sasuke by herself... so it had to be about something important. And considering what had happened two nights ago at Naruto's apartment...

"Did you find out anything from your roots in the Uchiha family?"

"It's seems that we're related in some way. We think that my father could be Uchiha Taka." Yuki was staring at her fingers when she said that so she didn't see Kakashi's visible eye widen and then freeze.

"Uchiha Taka..." he thought. "I always had my doubts but I guess that... so... Yuki... This is how it will be." He turned his attention back to Yuki before she'd notice anything amiss. "Did you tell them about your byakugan?" Yuki shook her head.

"I don't know how _that_'ll work out. From what I've observed about the Hyuugas nowadays is that they're very protective of the members of their clan. I don't want to get sucked into that circle too soon." She had just obtained her 'freedom'. "Besides... I... I'm a little worried about that... _thing_. That cursed seal. I don't want them to put it on me. I... don't."

"Well... I've got to go prepare now. It's about time for the other two to get impatient, waiting at the bridge."

"What?" Yuki glanced at a clock. "It's late! Kakashi-niichan, why didn't you wake up earlier?" He chuckled.

"I didn't want any Hatake breaking the tradition of being late," he said. Yuki didn't even have to think to understand the weight in his words. He was acknowledging her as though she was his blood sister, as he did only once before. It was a silent promise to not let her go and get 'sucked in' to any other clan. But oooh! How _could_ he wake her up so _late!_

**"You're** late!" cried out the irritated Sakura and Naruto when Yuki appeared at the bridge. She had her hand at the back of her head like Kakashi.

"Kakashi-niichan didn't bother to wake me up so-"

"Liar!" they two yelled. Yuki sweatdropped. Then Naruto looked grudgingly back at her.

"That excuse is pretty plausible," he muttered, looking sheepishly back up at her.

"Sorry," Yuki said, also feeling sheepish. "I'm guessing Kakashi-niichan already told you two why I'm here..."

"Sasuke-kun!" Sakura piped up as she saw the brunette walking in their direction. Yuki turned around to meet him.

"I just wanted to say goodbye before I left," he said to Yuki, blushing as he hid his face.

"That's something new!" Naruto remarked.

"Shut up," Sasuke huffed. Naruto looked from Sasuke to Yuki and back to Sasuke. Sasuke was looking awfully strange. Yuki... was acting awkward. What happened between them? Damn, he was feeling very curious. But it wasn't a bad sort of awkward, so Sasuke mustn't have done anything wrong. Naruto pouted to himself and then shrugged off his worry.

"Do your best in the mission, Sasuke-kun," said Yuki. Maybe that was what Sasuke wanted to hear? He still looked a little disturbed. His expression was a little shifty. Yuki knew he wanted to ask her something, but what?

"Hey, Yuki-chan! If we do good on our training, are you going to treat us out? Right, Yuki-chaaaaaaan? You still owe me lunch out." Yuki chuckled at that. Naruto's mind could work in such strange ways.

"Tell you what. You learn the kinjutsu that I'm going to teach you, and once Kakashi-niichan and Sasuke-kun have come back, I'll treat us all to dinner. Sakura-chan?"

"That sounds great, Yuki-chan!" she said happily. Naruto was bouncing deliriously on the water on the creek. Sasuke touched her shoulder to get her attention. What was this? Sasuke, who had all the attention in the world, was asking for some from her? He looked reluctant in asking her what it was that he wanted. Whatever that was. But Yuki thought that she could guess. She sighed, thinking that she'd give him a little mercy. "Sasuke-kun. I was thinking, that maybe, once you get back, we could go look through those books again. With your permission?" Yuki could positively see light dancing in his dark eyes. So she took the correct guess! But why was that making her feel like blushing? He nodded slowly and with a satisfied smile, walked away. Sakura watched the interaction with a blush.

"He really likes you, Yuki-chan," she said timidly. "I've never had that attention from him before. Not in all the years we've been together. I... I guess he's really happy to have found another member of his clan."

"I guess so, Sakura-chan," Yuki thought absently. Her heart was still wildly beating from his touch. They hadn't had any physical contact with one another since that day she had helped him with his injuries from fighting Kuma. "Naruto-kun! Now is not the time to slack off! It's going to take some time to get this jutsu down."

"Never fear!" Naruto said arrogantly. "I will accomplish this jutsu in a day, for I will be the next Hokage. Remember my name: Uzumaki Na-Na-Naru-tooo!" He lost his concentration and had fallen in the water. The two young ladies laughed at him.

"Naruto-kun." Yuki looked serious as she kneeled down to his level as he fished himself out. "I'm going to have to discontinue your lesson on kaze no jutsu alright? You may practice it while I am teaching Sakura-chan, but you'll have to concentrate more on the kinjutsu that I will teach you. Alright?"

**Sasuke** had never felt so foolish in his life. How could he have been so smitten around her? Hell, he was even blushing right now. Smitten? Heck, since when did that word even _exist_ for him?

"All set, Sasuke-kun?" Kakashi asked him from the gates of Konoha. Sasuke gave him a barely distinguishable nod. As with their missions together, they'd never really talked much, preferring to focus their attention on their surroundings. But this time, they were barely ten minutes out of Konoha before Kakashi said something else. "So I hear you've found out who Yuki-chan's father is?"

"A possible candidate," Sasuke said dryly. He was suspecting that this 'inquisition' might come up. "Why didn't you tell me that she had the sharingan bloodlimit, Kakashi-sensei? And all these years she'd been hiding..."

"Well... It wasn't exactly my secret to tell." He let the silence linger for a moment for Sasuke to absorb what he had just said. But he knew that the answer wasn't going to satisfy the youth. "If Itachi knew he had let someone else go, she would've fallen victim to him at an earlier age. She wouldn't have been able to grow enough to be able to protect herself." And the lady certainly could protect herself. Now.

"Someone _else_, Kakashi-sensei?" Sasuke asked, somehow knowing that the 'someone _else_' did not refer to Yuki. His thoughts wandered to his sensei's covered eye. Could he- could Kakashi be the 'someone else'.

"Yes, I meant myself," Kakashi said, almost as though he had read his thought. "You see, Sasuke-kun. Yuki's father, Uchiha Taka, was my half-brother." *******(A/N: please read note at bottom of page)

**"Heeey**! Yuki-chan! You didn't have to hit me so hard!" Naruto gasped as he stumbled to the ground. "You'd think the Hidden Snow village would have an ice-type jutsu instead of fire-type."

"Naruto-kun," she sighed exasperatedly. "It's important that you understand how this jutsu works. How it hits people. How much it injures them. Where it could hurt the most." Naruto looked up and gaped at her. What she said was so very... cold. "This kinjutsu is not to be taken lightly. As similar as it is to the kaze no jutsu that I taught you, it's a little more difficult to control. Since it's only to be used in life-threatening situations, you're going to have to learn how to use it to its maximum, without losing too much of your chakra at trying to control it." Naruto resentfully stood back up and dusted himself off. "Now, try it at me."

"Katon: Fire Dance no jutsu!" Spits of fire balls came from Naruto's direction towards Yuki. They grew bigger and bigger as their velocity increased - as they were supposed to. They were the size of tennis balls in the blink of an eye. And it started jerking unpredictably, moving from side to side in an unmistakable_ dance of fire_. "Oh nooooooo!" The fire spits went of control. All had missed Yuki, who only had to step a little to her right to dodge the closest fire ball. They rushed behind her towards the trees, proceeding to burn everything that was in their way. Yuki sighed and moved quickly to dispel the jutsu. The jutsu was supposed to move, randomly, though in a controlled manner, in such a way that it would not allow the victim to escape it. That at least _one_ would hit the victim of the jutsu.

"Do you understand now, Naruto-kun?" she asked as she made her way back to him. He had a shocked look on his face. "Remember when you trained yourself to learn kage bunshin no jutsu? It's a kinjutsu as well. Do you remember how much effort you put into it?" Naruto was suddenly reminded of all the hard work and pain he had to go through to master it. "Here's an idea. Try using the kaze no jutsu with the fire dance skill technique." Naruto looked dumbfounded. Yuki could only sigh in exasperation. "Naruto-kun. There's something you have to understand. The original kaze no jutsu was only to create gusts of wind to push back the opponent or to stop the path of projectile weapons. I modified it myself to create the different versions."

"No way... you invented a jutsu?" Naruto's scream could be heard within a mile radius.

"No, Naruto-kun. The jutsu was already there, I only _modified _it," she said. "You can do it too. Just like you combined kage bunshin no jutsu and oiroke no jutsu to make harlem no jutsu," she said with a wink. "Just use the seal of kaji odori no jutsu and then instead of focusing your chakra in its original manner, use kaze no jutsu's way of chakra control to the first level. The first level, the air bullet, is most similar to the kinjutsu." Naruto suddenly looked like an overeager child who had been given candy. "Try it, but don't over-do it alright? I'll go check up on Sakura-chan."

"Yuki-chan!" Sakura gasped in surprise as Yuki appeared next to her. Sakura had only just seen her with Naruto on the other side of the field. "Yuki-chan... I haven't been able to get the hang of this..." Yuki was teaching her the basics of kaze no jutsu.

"Don't worry about it, Sakura-chan. It took Naruto a week to get this right. But you are so much better at chakra-control, I know you'll be able to do it sooner." Yuki told her to do it to demonstrate for her. Sakura did it but only managed to get a loud thwack as it hit against the bark and dissolved. "Good. Very good. Now you'll have to try giving it a little more energy. It's like spitting, see? Naruto-kun actually had the right idea." Yuki proceeded to demonstrate for her. Sakura was doing quite well.

Yuki's mind started wondering about what her brother and Sasuke would be doing at that moment.

**"What **do you mean, half-brother?" Sasuke finally managed to asked. He was thoroughly puzzled at the revelation and had refused to speak for hours. "There aren't any records of Uchiha Taka having a half-sibling."

"Just because they're not recorded doesn't mean that they're not there. Besides, illegitimate births happen all the time." There was a dry note to his voice.

"What happened?" Sasuke asked curiously.

"Uchiha Taka's father was my father. His father had an affair with my mother, Hatake Ayame. That ended with me." Sasuke felt creeped out that Kakashi didn't display any emotion, not shame or even disgust of his past. Sasuke silently praised him for the self-respect Kakashi had developed for himself, regardless of his family situation. What kind of man was his father anyway? "Of course, the Uchihas didn't know about it until my sharingan eye appeared. They tried to kill me, or to carve it out... that's how I got my scar... it doesn't matter anymore. My mother died protecting me. The Hokage ordered them to stay away from me, if you're wondering how I got to survive."

"That would make you my uncle," Sasuke muttered loud enough for him to hear. after he had digested all the information. "Great, I have some pervert for a teacher _and_ a relative." But he was pleased. Not that it mattered that Kakashi hadn't told him earlier. No, he wasn't going to waste time being angry anymore. He had _relatives_.

**"Naruto-kun!**" Sakura called out. She had been talking to a messenger-nin on her side of the field. Naruto stopped training and dragged Yuki along with him to Sakura. "Hokage-sama wants to see you."

"Hai!" Naruto said cheerfully as he moved to speed off to the woman's office. The messenger-nin caught him by the collar, however.

"She's at Ichiraku," he said as he let go of Naruto's collar, sending him flying off to a tree. Without missing a beat, Naruto picked himself up and sprinted to his favorite ramen stall.

"You know, it's amazing how much someone can grow and not grow at the same time," Sakura said, echoing Yuki's thoughts. The two girls looked at each other and started laughing.

A/N : ***** **Well, let me remind you, dear reader, before you hit the review button and try to enlighten me on how Kakashi's past is not like how I wrote it here - that I began writing this story in the year **2004**, (it's now 2010) where Naruto was still new-ish and Kakashi's past was still a big big BIG mystery. I chose NOT to alter my made-up version of Kakashi's history because I **like **how Kakashi is connected to my OC and Sasuke. Dear readers, I love your reviews, but I am fully, FULLY aware that Kakashi's past is NOT as I wrote it here. I thank you for your time. I am glad that you are enjoying this story enough to reach the 8th chapter. I also hope that you have enjoyed enough to want to go on to press the "next chapter" button too.

Let me repeat, I know that Kakashi's real past is not as I wrote here. I wrote this story in Year 2004, _before _Kakashi's real past was revealed in the Naruto series. I made it all up. I'm fully aware that it's not the real story. Thanks for understanding!


	9. Waking Up

**Disclaimer:** Naruto & co. don't belong to me. They belong to Masashi Kishimoto.

A/N this is the part where everything just explodes in your face. finally, some action! nope, _not_ the SasuOC kind haha

**Chapter: Waking Up**

Tsunade was waiting for Naruto, his ramen ready and waiting for him just as he plopped down beside her. She looked up to see the handsome, chiseled face of the young man. She missed her little Naruto. It didn't matter so much earlier because he'd grown up acting the same as he did when he was a child... that was only a few years ago. She sighed. Time went by so quickly.

"Tsunada-baba! Why did you call me here?" he asked curiously. "Yuki-chan was helping me with the new jutsu."

"I missed you, you little squirt," she said.

"I'm not little!" he retorted with a pout. Tsunade just chuckled and told him to sit down.

"Naruto-kun, have you ever wondered who your parents were?" Naruto nearly choked into his ramen and turned to look at her closely. Tsunade refused to look at him.

"Of course I have. But what brought this about?" he asked.

"You've grown up so much, Naruto-kun," she murmured, finally looking at him. "How did you manage to get so tall?" Naruto puffed up proudly. He was no longer the short little guy he used to be. "Let's go for a walk, Naruto-kun." The suggestion was made after Naruto finished eating. Naruto nodded, looking at the serious look on her face. "I knew your parents"

"You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to," Naruto gushed when he saw her choking on her words, blinking tears away. Tsunade looked at him with startled eyes.

"You're a man now, Naruto-kun. You need to know what the village has kept from you all these years."

"You mean asides from the Kyuubi inside me?" Naruto said lightly, trying to erase the serious atmosphere. It was getting him really uncomfortable.

"Naruto-kun, please. Let's just go to my office."

"Why all this suddenly?" Naruto asked when they reached her office. He was settling down on the chair.

"I'm old and weary," she said. "My generation at this village is coming to an end, but before it's over, you have to know the whole truth about your past."

"Jeez, Tsunade-baba! Don't talk like you're going to resign or something!" She gave him a little smile. She told him, after taking a deep breath, the story of what really happened the day the Kyuubi was sealed.

Who his father was. Who had made sure that the Kyuubi wouldn't escape. Everything she knew.

Naruto's eyes went as wide as saucers as he listened to her. He could barely believe it, but the female Hokage would never pull his leg. Not for something as serious as this. He mind was spinning from the sudden attack on information... and asides from the new-found knowledge of his father, another piece of information stuck out significantly in his mind.

"That's- t-hat's for real?" he gasped. "You mean Yuki-... Yuki-chan's been around longer than I-... did she really have that much power to reinforce the seal on me?"

"No, she didn't. But she grasped the ability of chakra control at such a young age that it's... though it's not like it hasn't happened before. Lucky for all of us that Yuki is one of those lucky few," Tsunade said softly. "She gave what little chakra she had then to patch up yours, and to give a little boost. She was your perfect support. If anyone could make sure you were safe and keep the Kyuubi safely sealed inside you without hurting you, it was her."

"So they used her? Did the Third really make her a kunoichi at that young an age? Did he _force_ her to become an anbu?"

"His purpose, you must understand, Naruto-kun, was very logical at that time. Yuki had the potential. Yuki could protect you. Yuki can learn to protect herself. So he encouraged her. Gave her a little push, that was all. She became anbu with her own will. Sandaime would have been properly content with keeping her as jounin and slowly introducing her to you so both of you could become good friends, just like your father wished, but she became anbu at her own wishes."

"But why?"

"Because she wanted to protect you. She wanted the power to protect you."

"M-me?" he stammered, but his mind was on another subject. _She wanted power_. No, that just sounded so wrong. Yuki?

"She didn't know that the Third wanted her to protect you, but somehow, she found out. Or maybe she just took a liking to you," Tsunade said with a wink. "After all, your father took her in. You befriended her. Maybe her unconscious knew that. Even now, she doesn't realize it, but she wants to protect _you_."

"It wasn't because the Third told her to?" Was she told to be his friend? Was she only his friend because she was told to be so? Naruto had such a hurt expression on his face that Tsunade touched his chin and pushed his face slightly upwards so he could see her.

"Believe me, Naruto-kun, when I say that Yuki-chan was the last person on earth he could force into anything. That girl has a mind of her own." Tsunade apparently spoke from her own experience. "Kakashi is the only person she listens to."

"S-so... she really did want to be my friend," he thought. He felt a whole new batch of tears fighting to surface. "Sorry, Tsunada-baba. I gotta go." Tsunade watched him quietly as he made his way out of the office and then out to the street, still fighting off his tears. He's going to look for Yuki now.

An anbu appeared suddenly from the shadows. Tsunade wasn't alarmed at all. She had felt his presence when he entered. She beckoned for him to stand in front of her.

"There's a problem..."

"Uchiha?" Tsunade saw the anbu tilt his head forward and back in an unmistakable nod. "I thought so. Have you checked?"

"The barrier... is cracking." Tsunade lifted an eyebrow at that. Barriers were supposed to weaken. Not crack. "I've been keeping watch on him for a while and it doesn't seem to be such an alarming situation."

"How long before he wakes?"

"It is difficult to ascertain," the anbu replied with a slight shrug. Tsundane frowned. "A month or so is possible. But this... Uchiha... I would personally give a week."

"A week," Tsunade repeated with an even deeper frown. "Kurenai-san and Asuma-san will be able to help. Call them here while I check on him. Do _not_ alarm _anyone_," she said threateningly. The anbu bowed before leaving. Tsunade growled deeply in her throat. It would have happened sooner or later. It was sooner for the younger Uchiha. _Itachi_... so you're finally going to wake?

**"Does** Yuki know?" Sasuke asked. It was five days since they had left Konoha and now they were on their way back.

"About what?" Kakashi asked. His head was deep into his Come Come Paradise book. Sasuke saw a corner of his cheek turn a little red and rolled his eyes upwards.

"Your lineage. Does she know?"

"No, she doesn't. No use bringing it up anyway. I'm _Hatake_ Kakashi, not Uchiha." So he had given up his right to the Uchiha name.

"And Yuki?" There was room for Kakashi to misunderstand the question, but he didn't.

"She can be whom she chooses to be. She may listen to me, but I can't control her."

"You brought her up to be so independent."

"It's so unlike you to be so talkative," Kakashi said bluntly.

"It's unlike me to have any living relatives either," Sasuke came back with a hint of a smile. Sasuke was acting so different. "We still haven't got a clue to who her mother could be." Kakashi didn't reply to that. "Do you know, Kakashi-sensei?"

"If I knew anything, I'd've told her years ago."

"I see." Sasuke narrowed his eyes in suspicion. Kakashi's reply, he thought, was a little too curt.

"What are you planning, Sasuke?" Kakashi asked an hour later. Sasuke turned to look at him. "With Yuki."

"What am I planning to do with Yuki?" Kakashi nodded. "I haven't planned anything. Why should I be?"

"Well, once you've found someone you can get close to, you may not realize it, but you latch on to them quickly."

"What are you implying?"

"I'm implying nothing. But you tell me when you want to go out with her alright? It's enough of a strain on us that she has to divide her time between Sakura and Naruto too."

"You're jealous."

"Hm.. maybe..." Kakashi said, curving his eyes up to a smile. "What kind of brother doesn't want to spend time with his sister?" Of course, he had her all to himself for so many years... it'd be difficult to let go even a little.

**"Kakashi-niichan** will be here any minute! So you go march down to Sasuke-kun's house right now and wait for him!" Yuki was yelling at Naruto, who had evidently refused to go out and get Sasuke to join them at the Hatake household. Sakura was giggling as she cut up the vegetables.

"Why do _I_ have to go call Sasuke?" Naruto said bitterly when Yuki finally convinced him to go - though she had to bribe him with making him special ramen for dinner to make him even consider doing it. In truth, Naruto didn't want to let Yuki out of his sight.

During the short span of days, she had become a very dear friend to him, and he respected her. He'd never known anyone go through so much difficulties in their lives for his sake. He both resented and was humbled by it. Of course, Yuki knew that he was aware of most of her past now and since he was so much a part of it anyway, it didn't bother her too much. Naruto had gone up to her after meeting with the Hokage and once again started crying in front of her. Naruto had really gone soft-hearted through the years. Or maybe Yuki just managed to hit that sensitive spot in him easier than anyone else.

Kakashi came home feeling delirious. The smell of mouth-watering food wafting out the windows and the happy chattering of two girls in the kitchen. "I'm home."

"Welcome back!" Yuki exclaimed as she walked out of the kitchen towards him to give him a welcome-home hug. "What a surprise, you're only a _little_ late!"

"With this kind of food waiting for me?" Kakashi said brightly, trying to absorb the delectable essence of food in the air.

"I invited the rest of your squad over."

"I know. Sasuke told me about your promise to Naruto. Did he finish learning it?" Yuki winced visibly above her own mask.

"He burnt the field." Kakashi laughed humorously. "It's not funny! They've banned us from using that jutsu on the field. Once Naruto-kun got it right, he practiced using it with a magnified amount of chakra and burnt up nearly a fifth of the forest." Kakashi's eyes widened, a bead of sweat falling down his temple. Konoha's forests were... expansive.... "It took all the power I had to not let them ban us from using the field at all!"

"You used the land-reconstruction jutsu?" Yuki nodded.

"Kurenai-san had to help me with it."

"Well... burning up the forest does sound like something Naruto would do..." Yuki giggled and poked him on the stomach. "And Sakura?"

"She's handling the kaze no jutsu very well. At least she didn't rip up the trees like Naruto did..." Yuki said, thinking back when she and Naruto had journeyed back home.

"You're going to be a great instructor one day," he said as he gave her a cloth-covered kiss on the forehead. After receiving another hug, he made his way to his room to clean up.

Naruto and Sasuke entered the front door bickering about who was faster.

"Idiot. Do you think someone like you could beat me in a sprint?!"

"You asshole!!! I could damn well try! I'll kick your ass too!"

Sakura effectively told them to stop and led them to the dining table where Yuki and Kakashi were already seated. Yuki wasn't wearing her mask this time and the two men had blushed when they saw her. It was a while since they had last seen her without it, especially for Sasuke, and they had forgotten how gracefully pretty was.

"Oh yeah! You made me ramen!" Naruto exclaimed as he took his seat next to Yuki. Sasuke flushed another shade of red and sat down.

"A promise is a promise," Yuki said with a shrug, but was pleased at his eagerness. As they all settled down getting ready to eat, Kakashi's students settled themselves in such a way that they could peek at Kakashi, knocking was heard. All attention was diverted to the door outside which was clearly visible from where they were. Shimatta! When they looked back, Kakashi was already thanking for his meal.

"I'll get it," he said, smiling through his mask, standing up as his students started grumbling. Yuki looked over at this all in amusement.

"Are you still trying to catch a glimpse of his face?" she asked.

"Have you seen it, Yuki-chan?" Sakura asked. Suddenly their attention was diverted to her and she sweatdropped.

"Uh... yes I have..."

"Tell us how it looks like!" Naruto demanded.

Yuki opened her mouth and was about to say something when Kakashi returned to them with a frown on his face.

"The Hokage needs you." Whether it was what he said or how he said it or both, Yuki knew that something big was amiss. She disappeared from the table in the blink of an eye.

She had used all her speed to gather as many weapons as she could and then ran out the house, wearing a hood and her half-mask. The Hokage would never send for her. No. Never once in all her years with Tsunade did she ever send for her. Preferring to wait till Yuki visited in the mornings for whatever it was, if it really needed Yuki's individual attention. It's not like the other anbus couldn't handle it. And it wasn't just that which alarmed her. No, it was the fact that the Hokage hadn't asked for Kakashi's assistance as well. Also... there was the fact that Tsunade seemed weaker nowadays.

Yuki never bothered to ask, preferring to simply wait for Tsunade to tell her what was going on else she'd just leave it like that. No questions asked. Maybe it was... she'd been sensing something funny happening around the barrier of Tsunade's special operating room.

If she was going to deal with who she _thought_ she would be dealing... but _he was in a coma wasn't he_?

It _couldn't_ be that.

No, that was _impossible_. Or... wasn't it...?

She arrived at Tsunade's private room in exactly a minute.

"Yuki-chan!" she gasped. She and two other jounin and an anbu were busy trying to maintain the protective barrier-seal of the private room. Her sharingan flashed open. What she saw nearly made her gasp. Chakra was emanating from the comatose body. It was spurting out in big chunks and was trying its best to break free of the barrier. It was bound to happen sooner or later.

"Damn!" Yuki thought. It was too sudden. "Damn!" she thought again. Yuki immediately rushed forward, thrusting her hands out to the barrier like the other four were doing. It wasn't enough. Yuki gasped a she saw a large hole start ripping open a little above Tsunade's own position and jumped up, releasing her chakra and smeared it all over the hole to cover it up. The others followed suit when they saw that it was working effectively. Instead of concentrating on only one point, they moved to patch up the cracks in the chakra-made wall. But it still wasn't enough.

"Yuki-chan... the seal is breaking." No other information was needed.

Yuki sliced her palm with a knife, ignoring the sharp pain that threatened to consume her mind, and starting running all around the room, palm to the wall, letting the blood taint it.

"What are you doing in there, Hatake? You're going to get yourself killed!" cried out one of the jounin, but Yuki ignored it and planted herself next to the body. She took out a blank scroll and started muttering something. She ran her blood over the length of the scroll and put it on top of the man's body.

"Everybody jump away from the barrier when I tell you," Tsunade ordered when she saw what Yuki was about to do.

"But Hokage-sama!" one of the jounin protested.

"She knows what she'd doing. Just follow my orders," Tsunade said through gritted teeth. Her chakra was being drained faster than she liked it to be. Yuki had raised her bloody palm up, her other had in a seal and she was muttering something. Her hand twitched and she faced the palm down. She opened her eyes. "Jump _now_!"

Suddenly there was a big explosion and white light encompassed the room. Blinding white light.

And then there was darkness.

**"What** was that all about?" Naruto asked as Kakashi sat back down. He'd just left for a moment to check if Yuki was really gone.

"They didn't tell me," Kakashi said with a shrug. The three looked at him in alarm.

"How could you not ask?" Naruto and Sakura bellowed. "You're her brother!!!"

"You didn't need to tell me that." But the three were still giving him dirty looks. "Well... aren't you going to eat? Sakura and Yuki worked so hard to make these you know." They took a bite and then continued glaring at him. Suddenly the table started shaking, slowly, and then the whole room. The four held on to the table until it stopped.

"What was that?" Sakura squeaked. Kakashi turned a concerned eye to the window. Did Yuki have something to do with it?

A/N Thank you Blue Savage,  kai013 and ASCmesomething! -hUgZaLL- if you're at all confused... Itachi, who's been 'sleeping' in a secret room in the Hokage's office is starting to wake up... they know this because chunks of his chakra is escaping from his body eating up bits of the protective barrier Tsunade put so that only Itachi could not walk out/in.


	10. Sharingan Reunion

**Disclaimer:** Naruto & co. don't belong to me. They belong to Masashi Kishimoto.

A/N Woohoo! Action action action!

Stuff I created which I really think would look cool if they had it in the series: Katon: Fireworks no jutsu -it looks like how it's named A Hundred Fireworks no jutsu -this too Ice type: Bee no jutsu -ice bees anyone?

**Chapter: Sharingan Reunion**

**The** light faded and they were able to regain their vision.

"That was one hell of an impact," thought the red-eyed jounin. They had seen it. If only for a brief second. They saw it. They saw Yuki's hand come in contact with the scroll, the touch creating compressed waves - when they heard a body thud on the ground, it created a tiny shudder on the earth, then a tremor that almost grew to an earthquake if Tsunade hadn't flung herself to the source - the epicenter.

It was Yuki. The source of the vibrations had been her.

She was lying on her side on the floor next to where Uchiha Itachi was sleeping. A long gash covered the side of her forehead, her hair covered the rest of her face so they couldn't see any more damages on her, Tsunade had a hand on her shoulder, helpless to do anything for the moment.

"Repair the barrier," Tsunade ordered, without even glancing at the three outside. "Kurenai-san. Tell Kakashi - tell him..."

"Understood. I'll go now," Kurenai said, stepping away from the other two.

"Tell him that we'll be here for a while." Tsunade turned to the other jounin and the anbu that stayed to begin repairing the barrier. "I'm going to seal the door from the inside-... take care of the village," she said as she put her hand up to prepare for a jutsu. That was the last they saw before the room sealed itself from sight.

**The **guests of the Hatake household were solemnly eating their meal, when they heard knocking on the door, again. Sakura excused herself to get it.

"Kurenai-sensei?" Sakura gasped when she saw the state the older woman was in.

"Sakura? Where's Kakashi?" Kakashi was beside her as soon as she called his name. He helped her to a couch. "Kakashi..." Kakashi was surveying the damage on her body critically. It was bad. Through her panting, she noticed two more in the room - Naruto and Sasuke. If she found it odd that they were there, she didn't show it. She returned her attention to Kakashi. "We need to speak in private."

"I don't need to hide anything from my students," he said.

"Very well, if you wish." Kurenai coughed before starting again. "Something happened this afternoon. Chakra was rocketing off _ his_ body."

"_His_?" With a look from the woman, Kakashi understood and narrowed his eyes. "Go on."

"It got worse. The Fifth tried to contain it herself but in the end she had to call three others to help her. Me, Asuma and an anbu."

"And Yuki?"

"She tried to seal it - no - she_ did_ seal it. You felt the tremor the seal caused. The Fifth stopped it from turning to a full-blown earthquake. They've quarantined themselves in the room with him."

"What?" Kakashi growled. His students all jumped away from him in shock - including Sasuke. It was never a good sign when Kakashi growled. "Of all the-"

"It's too late. Asuma tried to open her seal but-... in any case, we can't reach them now. The room's sealed shut from the inside."

"Who did they quarantined themselves with... Kakashi-sensei?" Naruto asked. Kakashi looked tense, as if almost ready to explode. He looked at the blonde youth, then to Sasuke, then back to Naruto to answer his question albeit reluctantly.

"Uchiha... Itachi."

**Yuki** gasped in shock. "Stop it! Tsunade-sama," she pleased. Tsunade was trying to heal her. "You've lost so much chakra already."

"Yuki-chan. I know I'm being selfish but I'll need you to fight him if he stirs. I'm no match for him right now. I've tried to keep the barrier from breaking for so long... and my body has aged too much. You have to do this for me." Tsunade blinked away a tear. "That's why, please let me heal you."

"If he wakes up, he'll be angry," Yuki said timidly. She had seen Uchiha Itachi, once when he was awake. He made her see horrible memories from her past. Even though she had her sharingan, she wasn't immune to his powers.... Uchiha Itachi.... Even the thought of having that man finally awake... was terrifying.

"He won't know what happened," Tsunade said, not noticing the changes in her. She began the healing process. "He'll wake up thinking that Sasuke is still around. He'll try to destroy anything in his path to get to him. If he escapes my barrier... I can't predict what he'll do if he escapes. _If_ he wakes up."

"Don't underestimate me," Itachi gasped. He was sitting up. The two women were shocked. "How _dar_e you attempt to seal my chakra away... too bad you didn't know that members of Akatsuki are protected from it. You wasted so much energy."

Yuki pushed away Tsunade to the wall and took a defensive stance in front of her. Itachi pulled his legs over and made them touch the ground. Yuki took off her cloak and gave it to Tsunade. Even if Uchiha Itachi was still drowsy... she had to remove all restrictions to her movement. She had to fight her _all_ against this guy.

"Your mask... you're related to Hatake Kakashi? I see... that's how much time had passed. I never thought that Hatake would be continuing his line... You've proven me wrong." His sharingan eyes snapped open. "That'll never happened again!"

He had overestimated the condition of his body, thinking that it would move as fast as it used to when he ran forward to swipe his feet at her. She dodged and threw him to a wall.

"I guess my body's not used to it yet," Itachi murmured. "Still... This _container_ can't keep me." Itachi began a jutsu. Yuki's sharingan eyes turned on again as she quickly performed a counter-jutsu. It worked. The jutsu was dispelled. "You're an Uchiha!" he gasped uncharacteristically. "H-how can that be? Even Hatake can't pass _two_ sharingan eyes to his children!" The Uchiha's eyes flashed from uncertainty to anger in a second. "So... Sasuke..."

"I'm not either of their children so stop imagining like I'm the daughter of anyone you know!" she snapped. He brought his lips back in a snarl. "It hurts you, doesn't it? How much time has passed?" The formerly expressionless Uchiha Itachi looked panicked.

"Who are you then, you little-" Yuki rushed forward at the opening and side-kicked him, causing him to fall. She retreated a few steps back. "Damn it..."

"Four years have passed, Itachi," Tsunade said, Yuki moved near her in case he decided to lunge at her. "Four years, Itachi... please calm down." Itachi picked himself up and went round to the other side of the room, turning his back to them.

"Damn- he found the weakness-" Tsunade said, but the two were already gone. It happened in the blink of an eye.

_A large gaping hole lay in the wall in front of her._

**"My **brother? Why is he waking up?!" Naruto had to hold Sasuke back before he could do any damage to Kakashi accidentally.

Suddenly there was a gale of wind that shook the house as it savagely attempted to break down the door.

"Shit!" Kurenai cried out. "I hope that that wasn't a bad sign..." Kakashi glanced just once outside the window and started to move. Within seconds, the previously full room was left with only two. The three boys had gone. "Damn... I can't move.... Not yet." Sakura turned to Kurenai and helped her without saying anything.

**"You** can't stop me," Itachi said coldly.

"I can try," Yuki grumbled. Suddenly Itachi brought his hand up to do a fire seal.

"Katon: goukakyuu no jutsu." Yuki jumped out of its path and ran to cut him off while creating kage bunshins. "That's not going to stop me," he remarked. "Katon: Fireworks no jutsu!"

"Ice type: Bee no jutsu!" Fire met with ice as the two sharingan users increased their speed. Uchiha Itachi was moving dangerously closer to Konoha's gates. None of the other Konoha ninjas were able to help her at the speed she was going. Unless Lee or Gai were around... or.... In any case, she had to trap the Uchiha somehow, before he regained his coordination _completely_. And _she was running out of chakra fast_. "You've only just woken up. Your abilities are limited. You can't run away."

"A Hundred Fireworks jutsu!" Her clones disappeared at that moment of weakness.

Yuki herself got injured and nearly got thrown off the rooftops if _Naruto_ hadn't appeared and tipped her back into balance.

"_Yuki-chan!_" Naruto said in an stressed tone. Two other shinobis caught up. Sasuke and Kakashi. Everything was going around so fast... the gates were so much closer now... not enough time.... Once he got outside of Konoha, he would be more difficult to track down. "Yuki-"

"I'm alright, Naruto-kun," she said through gritted teeth.

"Sasuke...." came a low growl from Itachi. Sasuke growled right back. The four leaf-nin were still chasing after him. "There you are... you've grown...." He stopped suddenly. "Where have you been hiding-"

"Shut up!" Sasuke roared. "_I'll kill you!_" Blue-tinted chakra was jerking out of his body and was collecting at the palm of his right hand. Chidori.

"Yuki-chan, you go back," Naruto urged. "We can take it from here."

"Don't you dare," she hissed right back. Naruto spared a few seconds to look over at her. She was a complete mess. Less than half-an-hour before, she was all pretty and happy, now her hair was a mess, tinted with dirt and blood. Her forehead was gashed on the side. Her clothes were torn and _her eyes reeked of murderous intentions_. "Kakashi-niichan." Kakashi moved closer to her but did not take his eyes off from the two Uchihas. "Niichan, Naruto-kun, Tsunade-sama needs people to re-construct the barrier that held him in. Leave now. Sasuke-kun and I will deliver him back there. Go. Go now." Naruto-kun, she knew, would not go, no matter what she said, but Kakashi had dragged him behind them.

"No way! Sasuke's more likely to kill him and you'll-"

"It's important to reconstruct the barrier," she interrupted him. "It broke earlier because there wasn't enough chakra to keep him in. It's important that you do this, Naruto-kun. _They need you_."

"Let's go, Naruto." Naruto hardened his face but consented and followed Kakashi back to the Hokage's office.

"Don't underestimate me." Yuki had taken a position beside Sasuke against Itachi. All their sharingan turned on. Sasuke was looking _very_ pissed. The chidori barely singed the target. Although... the effects of pushing himself were starting to seep in. Itachi was breathing hard. Yuki found herself doing the same.

"We're both weak right now," Yuki thought grimly. "But Sasuke-kun is here. It's two against one. We _still_ have the advantage."

"Step aside, Yuki-chan." Itachi heard it and smirked maliciously.

"Yuki-_chan_ now is it?" Itachi narrowed his eyes. "Well, Yuki-_chan_, since you also have the sharingan, and we're all family, why don't you introduce me to your roots?" There was that moment of tense silence while Yuki debated with herself on whether to continue with the useless conversation or not... she chose to answer him.

"Uchiha Taka was my father."

"Uchiha... Taka...." While he was talking, Sasuke had taken out a number of kunai and had jumped into the air. Itachi moved to a defensive position as Sasuke rocketed back to the ground. Yuki took the opportunity and shot herself forward as Itachi dodged the attack and slammed her foot to his neck in a sickening crunch. But her eyes told her that it wasn't Itachi. The 'body' turned to a log of wood. Kawarimi no jutsu. The substitution skill.

Itachi had launched himself upwards to lash out at Sasuke. Kicking him down towards Yuki, who deftly caught him. But that was a mistake Itachi took advantage of. While the two were trying to regain their coordination, Itachi lunged forward and threw both of them off to the wall of a watchtower.

Two chuunins gazed downwards in surprise. They hadn't even seen anyone coming. They had moved_ that fast_. They heard the voices but were unable to locate them. Finally they had a clue. Sasuke dragged himself off the wall into a standing position, holding on to a very uncoordinated Yuki and looked up. Kiba and Neji were looking down at them.

"Yuki-"

With a groan, Yuki leapt from her position, sporting a pained look, blood running down her back, and lunged right back at Itachi before he could start running away again. Sasuke was about to do the same but found himself coughing out some blood. Itachi hit a vulnerable spot on his chest. Sasuke growled in frustration and looked up, again meeting the eyes of the two chuunins.

"What's happening here?" Neji asked, feeling a little off-the-center because he was looking straight at his sharingan. Akamaru let out a little yelp. Really, Kiba and Akamaru were inseparable.

"What is it, boy? You smell something dangerous?"

"Y-Yuki-" Sasuke said hoarsely as he coughed out a little blood as he returned his attention to the fight. Yuki was dodging Itachi's hits. Itachi was completely in control at that moment. At one point he managed to grab her arm and then slammed her to the floor with a sickening crunch. Something had broken. They couldn't see Yuki's face - or what expression she was making, but they knew that she was in dire pain. Her body twitched erratically, as if electric shocks were being passed through her. Itachi stood over her for a moment with an almost triumphant look on his face as he neared her body.

Sasuke angrily launched himself to his brother again right as Neji focused to turn on his byakugan. Yuki rolled herself away as Sasuke knocked his brother over, distracting him for giving her another round of beatings as she attempted to right herself.

Her chakra was running out fast. Her body was weakening just as fast. They had to finish the fight soon, that was all she could think of; that was all she wanted to think of - the pain... was overwhelming... her back... her legs.... Too painful. But she took a step forward as she regained her coordination, looked at Itachi in the eye and then joined in the fight once more.

"Uchiha Itachi...." Neji murmured.

"What? That guy is here?!" Kiba mumbled disbelievingly. Neji was looking in the direction Sasuke had gone, but Kiba still couldn't see anything but a few blurs. Even Sasuke was beginning to disappear. "How is that possible?"

"Alert Shikamaru. They're alright now. But I'll stand by here if it starts getting too tough." Kiba nodded in agreement. Meanwhile, Neji's attention was directed towards the unfamiliar silver-haired girl. She had dived into another kawarimi. Itachi's speed was picking up. Sasuke moved in time to block the kick Itachi had aimed to her back and shoved him away from her by throwing a kunai towards him. It missed.

"You're weaker than I remembered Sasuke," Itachi huffed as they paused for a moment to collect themselves. Sasuke was standing next to Yuki, who was panting heavily, blood still flowing quickly from the gash on her forehead, and a wound from her back. Half her face was red. It didn't take long to figure out that she could only remain standing for only a few more moments... she was losing blood fast... and yet there she was still. Itachi was very damaged himself. He knew that if he didn't get away soon, he wouldn't be able to get away at all. If more shinobi came.... But Sasuke was still looking spry. "Then again, you've always had that blonde fox to help you out, haven't you? Without him, you're nothing but a-"

"Shut up!" Sasuke bellowed. Yuki saw something from the corner of her eye that made her heart skip a beat. There was _one more_ comma to his left eye. His eyes now resembled her own... but Itachi still... Itachi was still the more developed of the two younger ninjas. The years didn't do anything to his eyes. They were still fully developed.

"Sasuke-kun," Yuki said, as if to remind him of her presence as he seemed a little too preoccupied with Itachi.

"Yuki-chan...?" His sharingan eyes were even more menacing now. It alarmed her that his eyes had jumped up one level so easily.

"We need to _trap_ him, fast. Now." Sasuke seemed to waver.

"Understood." But she wondered if he had really.

Itachi ran towards them and leaped. Yuki shot a handful of shuriken at him, at the opening, but he managed to evade them. Sasuke back-flipped as Itachi aimed a stray shuriken right at him. The shuriken embedded itself on the roof. Then Yuki leaped up, performing kaze no jutsu so she could stay airborne longer, so she would be on level with Itachi. Itachi shot his hand out... and missed. But something was missing. He had taken her holster.

"Shit..." Yuki's eyes grew wide in alarm at the slip. The move was unexpected. Itachi had struggled with Sasuke and had eventually slammed him to the floor, swiping his holster too, and was taking out all their weapons. His lips curved up to a smirk and Yuki realized what he was doing.

She was still on air and, being relatively foreign to that element, and unable to twist unless risking more damage to her bones, it would've been almost impossible to escape every single shuriken and kunai that he had aimed up at her. To make it worse, he was right below her so in any way she dodged, at least one of the weapons would find its way to her. True to her thoughts, he threw every single shuriken and kunai towards her.

The byakugan turned on. It turned on just as she performed _ The Heavenly Spin_. It was a mistake... but a life-saving mistake... she had to do it. She _had_ to execute the spin.... The ninja weapons bounced off the sphere of chakra she had created. It wasn't the ultimate defense for nothing.

"_W-wh-why_... that technique is only known to members of the Hyuuga clan!" Itachi cried, clearly stunned. Sasuke and Neji, who had been watching, were utterly shocked and speechless. They were practically petrified. "Why do you also have the _byakugan_?!" Yuki felt her head start throbbing. _Throbbing_. She had both her bloodlimit abilities on... the nerves in her head were throbbing something horrible. Releasing that much chakra, right after turning on her byakugan, _with_ her sharingan still on, while having a _low_ level of chakra in the first place... it was _too much_ of a strain on her body. Yuki felt the first notes of faint.

From the corner of her eye, she saw Sasuke lunge at Itachi, knocking him to the ground. Wrestling against him. She saw something blue start to sparkle in Sasuke's hands. Itachi took notice of it in alarm, knowing that, in his present state, another brush off the chidori could- Itachi kneed Sasuke away. Sasuke's body fell to the ground in a sickening thud. Itachi's entire body was flushed. He was nearing his limit. Yuki watched, her head still throbbing in pain, as he shakily stood up. No, Itachi could still beat her if she didn't finish him off immediately. Never mind that searing pain in her back. Never mind the pain. She had to-

But she couldn't move. Every time she tried to move her feet, her balance shook uncontrollably. Until her knees gave out. She fell face-down to the ground.

"Yuki!!" she heard someone call out. She brought her two hands up and tried to lift herself up. Shakily. As if the slightest wind could knock her over, but she still tried.

There was someone standing in her place... that boy that was watching them. Hyuuga Neji. She watched his back as he took a stance. In the back ground, Sasuke lifted himself up. The two leaf-nins had Itachi on both his sides. Neji was the first to move.

"Uchiha Itachi. You won't be able to escape this. You are within my attack range. Gentle Fist style: 64 hands of Hakke." He dashed up to him and performed it while he was still in shock. He closed off all his chakra openings, sending him to the watchtower - right where he had slammed the pair into earlier.

That did it. _That did it_. Yuki could've died happy.

"Damn..." he choked. His eyes were threatening to close. "I'll get you back for this." Itachi sank into the ground. Unconscious.

Yuki felt a huge wave of dizziness crashing down on her as her arms weakened. It was too much. _Too much_. It got way over her chakra limit. _Damn... _She started coughing out blood. But the blood collected itself inside her mask. It was choking her. Too much blood. It was clogging her air supply.

Sasuke was by her side in a flash. The two conscious men looked at each other with blank expressions on their faces.

A/N Yuki's byakugan is not as developed as Neji's. She can't see those 64 chakra openings on the body like Neji can. Yuki's a little low on chakra, half at least at the beginning of her fight against Itachi since Tsunade 'healed' her and Itachi's _really_ drowsy. And his muscles aren't used to... well, moving. Those two plus a very very very surprised Sasuke who'd never thought in a gazillion years that his brother would awaken was very unprepared and... _unprepared_. I was calculating the odds in my head and thought that it was a pretty even match. 'Even' as in, the-good-guys-are-gonna-win-as-always-roll-eyes-whatever match. Neji staying on towards the end cinched their victory. Regardless that Sasuke could've taken Itachi in on his own. Which was why Kiba or Naruto or Kakashi did not enter the fight.

I know I might be driving you crazy with this looong note. It's just this whole 'calculation' I did in my head that I needed to rant on.

Zen: I haven't been on ffnet for long either, but I -sort of- got the gist of the meanings. OC, I think, means Out Character or Own Character, or Own Creation... haha, somewhere along those lines. and OOC I'm pretty sure means Out Of Character. yeah... AU would be Alternate Universe. I'm still not sure what PWP means but it's along the lines of 'come cheap paperback romance novel'... and I only just found out what a MarySue is... I'm sure you got the gist of that if you've read most of my a/ns heehee. I hope that helped.


	11. The Pact

**Disclaimer:** Naruto & co. don't belong to me. They belong to Masashi Kishimoto.

**Chapter: The Pact**

**"Yuki****-san**," whispered a purple-haired Hyuuga. It was Hinata. She was sitting by Yuki's bed at Konoha's main hospital. They were at the private wing of the building - normally reserved to only members of the Hyuuga clan, only because Hyuugas needed specialists to help heal them. Sasuke entered the room just then, with Neji following close behind him. "Sasuke-kun. Neji.... How did the meeting go?" According to the blank expression on Neji's face and Sasuke's eyes that did not want to meet hers, she assumed that something big had happened. The two men didn't answer her.

"How is she?" Sasuke asked, though knowing exactly how 'well' she was. He had asked Naruto and Sakura who had come by earlier to visit her. They said that there was no improvement. It had been a little more than a week since the incident. And still she hadn't awakened.

"J-just now I... I thought that her heart rate had gone up... I don't know if it was only my imagination...." She trailed off as she gave a worried glance to the unconscious girl.

"Hinata.... We need to go now." Neji said, putting a hand on her shoulder. Sasuke was left standing alone inside the room.

"Kakashi-sensei. I know you're here." Kakashi appeared from outside the open window and he stepped inside. His eyes weren't on Sasuke though. They were fixed on the face of his sister.

"She's never been unconscious this long... for such a long time. The first time she blacked out was the time she had experimented on her bloodlimits. It was just before she became anbu. She nearly died then."

"What did she do?"

"You know how the bloodlimit heritage can _only_ be compatiblewith '_pure bloods_'. Yuki tried to use both byakugan and sharingan for a little over two minutes though she started off with her optimum level of chakra." Sasuke was openly shocked at that. _Only _two_ minutes?_ "She can take it up to three minutes now, but... it'd be like you going for a third chidori when you were 12. _Without_ an extra power source." The younger man narrowed his eyes. He never thought that the consequences could be so great. Sasuke looked intently at the older man's face. His mind immediately shoved off the thought and concentrated on what had happened earlier that day. Kakashi was present at the meeting - even if he was only half-Uchiha, he was still one of the only relatives Sasuke had left. "She'll be so pissed when she wakes up... she never liked being saved by people."

"Other than you," Sasuke silently thought. Kakashi turned towards him, looking thoughtful. "What?"

"How troublesome.... She'll be even more ticked off once she finds out about the pact!" Kakashi exclaimed, following it with a sigh. "Better polish my running shoes.... I'll be going."

"Checking up on the Hokage's office?"

"Hn... something like that." Kakashi disappeared.

Sasuke sat down on the chair beside Yuki's bed, gazing at her bandaged face. Her mask still covered the lower half of her face.

What a state she had been in when he had carried her back. Sasuke was too unnerved to bring Itachi back to his holding at the Hokage's secret office, and Neji saw that, so Sasuke had taken Yuki to the hospital instead.

She was a limp body. Utterly still and looked almost lifeless. Bruises covered her body where cloth had been shredded. Her hair was matted with blood. The blood on the gash had clotted, and made the wound look worse than it really was. Sasuke found out later that it had only been skin deep. It took a while for them to realize why no oxygen was being circulated around her body. She was turning deathly blue. As if she wasn't already pale in the first place. Apparently there was blood stuck on her mask. It was blocking the pathway of air to her nose and mouth. If that weren't bad enough, she was still bleeding from her throat. Her ribs were fractured from the fight. She was suffering internal bleeding as well.

_Thank god Tsunade was well enough to help._

His ears pricked up when he noticed a change in her heart rate. The machine that displayed it showed a slight increase in the rate, confirming his thoughts. Suddenly her breathing picked up. Sasuke edged as close as he could to her. Was she waking up?

"Yuki-chan...." he whispered, his hot breath on her cheek.

"S-Sas-suke...k-kun?" she whispered back, her eyelids fluttering.

"Don't try to get up," he warned gently, although he was feeling abnormally ecstatic. She woke up! "Don't. You're in the hospital. You've been sleeping for over a week.... Itachi is safe from Konoha." Sasuke saw her try in vain to pick up her hand. He put his own hand on top of hers. "Don't try to move just yet." He didn't know why he was acting that way. Why he just wanted to touch her again....

"I'm sorry," she whispered. Sasuke nearly jumped out of his skin.

"For what?"

"I didn't know... how... to tell anyone... about... my byakugan eyes...." She saw Sasuke stiffen and turned her eyes away in shame. She felt as though she had betrayed them yet again. Sasuke wouldn't ever forgive her again... would he?

"It's alright, Yuki-chan." He said. Yuki turned back in surprise. She caught him blushing as he turned away. "W-well, I wouldn't tell anyone if I had a double-bloodline either. Every single person on this village would be after me..."

"Why?"

"I don't know..." he mumbled, looking down at his feet. "I better go get someone to call Naruto and Kakashi-sensei." Yuki watched his back as he walked out of the room. He glanced back before he stepped out and gave her a little smile.

More came in than she expected. As she was propped up to a sitting position by a nurse after Tsunade gave her go-ahead, she saw Kakashi, Sasuke, Naruto and Sakura beside her. They exchanged smiles as the nurse left. It was then when she saw the other visitors. Tsunade, Kurenai, Asuma, Shikamaru, Kiba, Neji, Hinata and Hyuuga Hiashi - the head of the Hyuuga clan. It was silent, save from the beeps of the machine near her.

"I'm not dead, you know. There's no need to look so solemn," she said irritably. She had regained most of her control on her body while waiting for Sasuke to come back.

"Still spunky, huh? You forget, you won't get out of here easily. You've still got to stay here for a few more days," Kakashi said. Yuki gave an unladylike snort and rolled up her eyes.

"You, among everyone else I know, should realize this bed won't keep me here," Yuki said dryly.

"B-but, Yuki-chan! You're still injured!" Hinata squeaked. Yuki returned her gaze to the crowd at the other end of the room.

"Tsunade-sama?" Tsunade gave her a little smile and stepped forward.

"I'm sure you recognize all these people here...."

"Kurenai-san, Asuma-san... we met the day I became jounin. Shikamaru-san... we've met, not face to face, but we've met once before. Kiba-san and Neji-sama... you two were at the watchtower." Kiba's and Neji's eyes widened. They didn't think she would have noticed. Neji didn't think she was well enough to recognize him at that last few moments. "Hinata-sama... Hiashi-sama..." The two Hyuugas gave her a slight nod. Realization began to dawn in on her face. "I see... I'm at the Hyuuga's private hospital wing, aren't I?" It was a rhetorical question. She absolutely knew where she was, judging the direction at which the sunlight was streaming in from the window. "Come to take me away?"

"No way... why would we do that?" Hinata protested, when no one else said a word.

"I have the byakugan, and no seal on my forehead. Who's to seal it when I die if the Hyuugas don't do something about it now?" Yuki said coldly. "Well, it doesn't matter. Just get it done and over with."

"Your mother was also the impatient type, too." Hyuuga Hiashi was staring at her intently. She stared right back. Her mother? "I remember when we were children-"

"Please tell me who my mother is, Hiashi-sama," she said, interrupting him, no longer feeling resentful of the power he could have over her in acknowledging her birthright. Hiashi looked a little pensive.

"We came to a conclusion that it was Reika. Hyuuga Reika. My sister." Only Yuki was surprised at this. It seemed the others had already been informed earlier. "Would you like to hear the whole story?"

"M-maybe n-not n-n-now," she stammered. Everyone was still staring at her, but she was occupied with only herself. If what he said were true, then Neji and Hinata would also be her relatives.... Everything was going too fast. She felt the world start spinning around her.

"She needs her rest now," Tsunade chirped, attempting to usher them out of the room. Only Hiashi, Kakashi and Tsunade were left in the room. "Do you feel alright, Yuki-chan?" she asked gently as she moved to her side and put a hand to her forehead. "You look a little pale." Kakashi snorted. Tsunade gave him a dirty look. "Paler than usual."

"Yuki," Hiashi said, the very tone of his voice demanding attention. Yuki had no choice but to respond to it. "Once you get out of this hospital, you will be staying with us-"

"Why?" Yuki asked sharply.

"Kakashi-san and Godaime-sama have informed me that your chakra-control is excellent, perfect even, but you lack discipline in controlling your heritage." Hiashi paused for a moment while she digested what he just said. "You will stay with us until you gain control over both your byakugan and your sharingan."

"Kakashi-niichan?" Yuki looked to her brother questioningly, not knowing why she felt so uncertain.

"It might help you in the long run." That was the only advice he had offered.

"Alright. Only until I get that control," she said, keeping a steady tone in her voice. Hiashi nodded and gave her his get-well wishes before leaving. Only Tsunade and Kakashi remained. "Tell me... what... what's happened to Uchiha Itachi?"

"Sleeping behind the barrier. You did a good job, Yuki-chan," Tsunade said with a grin. She turned around to leave, but stopped as she reached the doorway. "Oh, Yuki-chan, you're on paid leave till you leave the Hyuugas." Yuki gave her a grin and said goodbye.

"Niichan?" Yuki had been wondering about the blank look in her elder brother's eyes. It couldn't have been worry. He's never looked like he was worried about her... much. That was how she preferred it. "Kakashi-niichan...." she repeated when he didn't respond.

"Your father was my half-brother." It was like lightning. The way he said that was like putting a needle to her heart. Was it supposed to matter? Why was everyone telling her all these things at once?

"Is that so? Well, you're still my big brother, right?" she smiled up at him. He chuckled and patted her on the head. "It'll be weird starting to call you '_Uncle_' from now on... you've always been my big brother." His eyes curved up in a smile.

"What are you still doing on that bed for? I know you've been itching to get up since I got in the room." Yuki giggled and slowly shifted her legs off her bed while still maintaining a shifting position. "Tsunade-sama is _expert _in healing _you_."

"I didn't want them all to know, else I'd have to go with Hiashi-sama and Neji-sama right now. Hinata-sama would have been trying in vain to get me back to bed.... Hinata-sama has such a gentle nature." Kakashi's expression turned serious.

"They can help you, Yuki-chan. Don't try to fight them." Kakashi couldn't say the one thing he wanted to most, that 'they won't force you to do anything'.

"I'm to be sent off to the most powerful clan in Konoha. You expect me to be silly enough to pick a fight with them _on my own_?!" she said incredulously.

"Well," he said with a little smirk that hid behind his mask. "I wouldn't put it past you." His chuckle was met with an irritated frown. In truth, Kakashi thought that Yuki probably didn't even know the true extent of her prowess was a ninja. It was one thing to have _either_ the powerful Hyuuga line or the talented, but terrifying, Uchiha line to back you up, but to have both.... Talent and power were two very dangerous things to mix.

Yuki would find out when the Hyuugas take her in.

**"Yuki!**" Hinata gasped as she saw the lithe frame of the silver-haired girl at the entrance to the Hyuuga home. One of the watches took Yuki and her satchel to the guest entrance. "Y-Yuki-san! You're out of the hospital too soon...." She had only seen her wake earlier that morning. It was now late evening.

"Good evening, Hinata-sama," Yuki said, remembering her manners as she gracefully took a seat opposite her hostess. "I hope I did not come when you were still unprepared."

"Not at all." That was Neji. He had suddenly appeared beside Hinata. He sat down beside the purple-haired girl. "Hiashi-sama informed us that you would be coming this evening."

"Hiashi-sama?" Yuki repeated, dumbfounded.

"Silly as her mother used to be," came a grumbling voice. Yuki looked up to see another Hyuuga stand before her. Hiashi took a seat in front of the two younger Hyuugas. "Reika never understood the limitations of her body. She nearly pushed it beyond repair before she got control of _her_ chakra."

"Thank you for receiving me, Hiashi-sama," said Yuki courteously.

"However," he continued. "You have learnt to control your chakra already. You performed _The Heavenly Spin_, according to Neji." Yuki nodded slowly. "That is... exceedingly impressive. But..." He just left the word hanging. Yuki waited patiently. "When did you first realize that you had both the heritage of Hyuuga and Uchiha?"

"I turned five when I found my sharingan. Eight when I could activate the byakugan," she answered.

"So you acquired skill with the sharingan first... Your talent preceded your power. That would explain how you managed to advance yourself so fast." Hiashi saw the suspicious expression in her eyes and said, "The Fifth has told me a little of your past achievements." It seemed to settle her a bit. "I've been rude. Please. Hinata, show her to her room. Neji will also accompany you."

"I can stand on my own," Yuki said. Hiashi nodded in acknowledgement but let Neji follow them anyway.

"Yuki-san..." Hinata said hesitantly as she stepped into her designated chamber. "I'll try my best to make your stay here pleasant."

"I'm sure you will, Hinata," Yuki said, smiling at her, though it could barely be seen behind her mask. Hinata looked infinitely relieved and smiled shyly back. When she left, Yuki and Neji began staring at each other. "I mean you no challenge, Neji-sama." He gave her a slight nod.

"I begin training at the eastern area at dawn," he said. Yuki acknowledged it as a silent invitation. Neji left after a final look over. Yuki silently sank on to her futon.

"They're an odd bunch," she remembered thinking as she fell asleep.

**"You're** a little later than I expected," Neji remarked as he saw her coming down from the steps of the guest house to the eastern area.

"Oh? You must be used to waking up early then," she said. The two started staring at each other again. Yuki smiled. All the tension from the day before was gone. Yuki felt none of her unease any longer. Neji smirked back.

"So, how did you learn how to-" The Heavenly Spin.

"I saw you do it during the chuunin exam. I got the concept from Kakashi-niichan and taught myself it."

"And you can see-"

"All 64 chakra release points? No. Unlike yours, my byakugan is not yet completely developed."

"Her bloodline must lean more towards the Uchiha side," Neji thought, frowning in concentration.

"Neji-sama..."

"There's no need for us to be very formal."

"Neji, what am I doing here?" Neji was caught off-guard with the question. He frowned even deeper. Yuki stepped back in alarm. She did not want to fight a Hyuuga while her body was still recuperating. Even_ if_ Tsunade had managed to patch her up pretty well, her chakra was still at too low a level.

"You're to learn to control both your byakugan and your sharingan." Yuki waited for more of an explanation and was rewarded with it moments later. "It is unfortunate that both your heritage limits developed independently of each other. It would have been easier if you had received both at the same time, but now, your path will be more difficult."

"How?" Yuki seemed a little suspicious. "How would you know what would be easier for me? Have there ever been any more Uchiha-Hyuuga children?"

"That is not a tale to be told this early in the morning," Hiashi said, appearing near them. They did not notice him walking up. The two turned in attention. "Neji, you may continue training if you wish, but Yuki-"

"Hiashi-sama?"

"You will need to build up your energy first." Hiashi led her to another house. There was food on a table. He was going to feed her this early in the morning? Yuki felt a little green. "If you wish to train with Neji, you will eat first. Otherwise, you will stay here until you can eat, then I will train you myself." Training either way... heh. "Hinata?"

"Father?"

"Yuki will need refreshments." Yuki sighed at it and glanced sideways at Hiashi as Hinata turned to call for a servant. There was a far away look in his eyes. Did she remind him awfully much of his sister, Reika...? Her mother.... Maybe. Yuki sat, looking determined at the food-filled table.

"Fine! Might as well finish everything sooner than later," she thought.

Hyuuga Hiashi took her back to Neji when she was done. She felt overly filled with food, and, ultimately, sick, but Neji helped her work it off and soon, he got her back into her rhythm. Hiashi only came to look at them every once in a while, always looking at the sidelines, never bothering. Hinata came once, too, to give them refreshments, lunch and evening meal. Neji stayed with her all the time. Helping her work out. Yuki knew that whatever they were working on her was accomplishing itself. At the end of the day, Yuki felt completely rejuvenated. She did not expect to have been able to completely return to herself for another day or two.

"Thank you, Neji," she said, as they parted for the night. Neji returned the greeting with a hint of a smile. Yuki returned to her room feeling content. Maybe tomorrow they would start hassling her about her 'discipline' with her eyes. Yuki thought that that was exactly what they were going to do, so she decided to go straight to sleep after cleaning herself up.

Unfortunately for her, her body wasn't so kind. She was restless and she couldn't sleep, so she decided to go up and do a round of light exercise to tire herself out a little. Once outside her room, she noticed a little light from a distance. It came from the house where she had been taken to that morning. Naturally, curiously came over her. Though feeling a little guilty from her actions, she used her anbu skills to sneak over to take a peek, if only to make sure that everything was alright. The clan's elders were all there. They were on one side of the room, facing Hiashi and Neji.

"She has to prepare herself as soon as possible, Hiashi," said one particular old man. Hiashi merely shook his head at him.

"If you knew her, you'll know that she wouldn't accept it so easily," he protested.

"She is not Reika, Hiashi. Reika is long gone. Even though you have forgiven her for running away with Uchiha Taka, the rest of us cannot be entirely sure of forgiving her for forsaking her heritage. The least among her giving birth to a-"

"She did not forsake her heritage. She _passed it on_ to her daughter," he insisted, interrupting him. "And Yuki has taken some of her mother's characteristics. I can assure you of that." The elders were silent. "You cannot push her into this."

"The pact was made, Hiashi. You agreed yourself that it was for her own protection. Are you going to go back on your decision?"

"No. What I'm trying to tell you is that she is not ready to be told yet," said Hiashi. "When Reika was told that she was to marry someone other than Taka, she ran away. We couldn't catch her. If she decided not to run away, she'd've stayed and fought us. _Yuki will not run away_. I know it. And when you tell her that she's to marry someone, even as close to her as Uchiha Sasuke is, there's no stopping her from injuring _us_ to break the pact instead of running away." The elders were silent once again.

"When will you think she will be be ready?"

"That is up to her."

"How will we know?"

"We won't." All eyes suddenly turned to Neji. "True, she does seem to be more open to Neji, but we will not use him to-"

"It's alright, Hiashi-sama," said Neji. "When-... _if_ the time comes, I will tell her."

A/N I bet you're thinkin': "What the f---?! Getting _married_?" There's a reason to my madness. I promise!! I've got some pain in store for her, if any of you are thinking of killing her (or me) right now haha.

Maliciously Creative: Thank you so much for clarifying!!! and I am aware that Itachi shouldn't have been able to move in that last chapter, but you were right on the point, he is a freak haha, if only he weren't so damn hot... o.O; same goes with Yuki in this chapter - they're both freaks with super-Tsunade-woman looking after them (Itachi wasn't killed off because Konoha wants whatever secrets from Akatsuki he has with him - in this fic), and anyway, I don't know how you'll feel about what I've arranged the SasuOC situation in this chapter, it might even turn you off... but that's ok -.- I like how the story has gone just like it has. And if you're still going to continue reading, then I might as well let you know that I'm not going to do anything fatal to Tsunade. She's cool :)


	12. Easing Into Life

**Disclaimer:** Naruto & co. don't belong to me. They belong to Masashi Kishimoto.

**Chapter: Easing into Life**

**Yuki **was burning with rage. It didn't matter to her that the Hyuugas had 'suddenly' begun to watch her moves intently. It didn't matter to her that she was partly taking it out on Neji. Her _cousin_. It didn't matter because... well, she made sure that they couldn't see it. But it was there all the same. Boiling underneath her skin.

Her movements were more concentrated. Her intentions were honed so perfectly to one thing: to damage. Yesterday, she was content with getting exercise. Today she was out for blood. While others thought the slight change resulted from the healing night's rest, Hiashi picked up something different.

No. It wasn't there. But it was _there_ all the same. Every time she flung her hand out to release a punch, her eyebrows furrowed together a little more. Every time she let out a kick, her eyes flashed a slightly irate look. Hiashi noticed this and barely left the two alone for fear of losing his chance to identify her emotions. Yuki puzzled him that day.

"You almost seemed to have gained your true strength," Neji commented as they ended their exercise for that day. His muscles were sore, but he wouldn't admit it. He knew Yuki was going through the same thing, and praised her silently for holding it all in.

"My 'true strength'?"

"The true extent of your control." Neji looked down at the girl. She was sitting on the porch of the main house, looking up at him, her chest rising and sinking in a panicked motion. She must've been really tired. "Like when you were fighting against Uchiha Itachi." Yuki stilled visibly. Neji took a seat beside her. "You had the whole of your physical and spiritual strengths _under control_. That was what Hiashi-sama meant about having 'perfect' chakra control." Yuki nodded, understanding slightly.

They watched the sun set and the setting darken in silence. Listening only to the natural sounds of their environment. Hiashi was never far away from them, but he too did not make a sound.

"That day... the sun set just like it is doing now," Hiashi said, breaking the silence. He moved from his place to stand near them, though he did not look at either. Yuki instinctively knew that he was going to talk about the past. "Reika announced her engagement to Uchiha Taka, and they locked her in her room."

"They _what_?" Yuki asked sharply. Hiashi turned his pupil-less eyes down at her own maroon eyes.

"The elders gathered and met, discussing it for weeks. It was an impossible match." Yuki continued staring up at him. A silent challenge to tell him to tell the story whole. "It is known, but only among the Hyuuga clan, that the Uchiha's roots belonged to us. The sharingan was but part of an aspect to the byakugan."

"The abilities of the sharingan and byakugan are quite different," Yuki argued. Neji put a hand on her shoulder to tell her to be silent. Frowning, Yuki obeyed the silent reprimand.

"The reason why the Uchiha broke off from the Hyuuga was because of the difference in interests. Uchiha wanted talent, and they wanted to share it. But the Hyuuga code required more of the _strength_ of the _bloodline_ and the strength of the byakugan of a strong blood-descendant. Eventually the Uchiha's ability that connected it to the byakugan distilled as their part of the clan increased in talented members. Uchiha wanted more well-rounded abilities for their clan's ninjas. And the Hyuugas only wanted to develop their sole bloodlimit ability - the byakugan - to it's ultimate extent. The line that connected the Hyuuga and the Uchiha dissolved. The Uchiha's bloodlimit evolved to the present sharingan while the Hyuuga, the byakugan, remain unchanged. The byakugan is... what it is now.

"Once, they tried to reunite the two clans, by marrying the children of the clans' leaders." Yuki narrowed her eyes in suspicion. What was it that happened in the past that affected the relationship of Hyuuga Reika and Uchiha Taka? "The marriage was successful. They had two children. The first, a girl, and the second, a boy." Hiashi closed his eyes and silenced for a moments. Yuki noticed a fleeting sadness in his expression.

"The girl passed her initiation year - when her double bloodlimits activated at the same time. The boy had a little more trouble. His byakugan activated first. However, regardless of that, both were able to gain full control over the byakugan and the sharingan." Hiashi paused yet again. "They advanced quickly. Not unlike you. They were called the _Kanzen Seishin_ - Pure Spirit. Nothing in the village could ever best them. Not when they were together. Nothing outside the village could compete with them. _Together_... they were indestructible. The first of their kind..." Yuki clenched her fists. He was talking as if they were _pedigreed animals_. "And they were _reckless_. They attracted trouble. Konoha became a warring nation because of them. Konoha had become the most powerful nation because of them. The first and second Hokage had to clean up their messes after they died." Hiashi looked oddly cold. "Having them was... dangerous, to put it lightly. _Kanzen Seishin_ were never meant to form. From then on, the Uchiha and Hyuuga distanced themselves."

"And then my parents..." Yuki said without thinking. She bit her lip for interrupting him, but did not break her gaze.

"You must understand their fears," he stressed as he kneeled down beside her and put a hand on her shoulder. "Konoha is peaceful now. It was always our wish for it to always stay that way. And when Reika announced her engagement...."

"They remembered what happened and thought maybe history would repeat itself?" Hiashi closed his eyes solemnly before answering her.

"They tried to stop them, but Reika... my sister was too headstrong. I don't blame her. All she wanted was to be with him. They couldn't stop her from leaving Konoha with Uchiha Taka. I do not blame either of them. I... I loved my sister too much for that. Hizashi and I... helped her leave. All we ever wanted was for her to be happy."

"I see..."

"Yuki." His voice was commanding and yet gentle. Yuki saw the question in his eyes.

"I'm not a Hyuuga," she said as she stood from her seat. "My apologies, Hiashi-sama, but I am _Hatake_ Yuki. I acknowledge both Uchiha and Hyuuga as my ancestral family, but it will not-"

"I understand," he said, standing up also. Neji, who had been silently witnessing the exchange stood up as well. "Hatake Yuki. You are still my niece, whatever you say, whatever that may happen."

"I'd always figured that the Hyuuga were protective about their clan," Yuki said with a fake grin - not that they could see much of it from behind the mask anyway. Hiashi managed to give her a small smile.

"Come inside then," came a timid voice. It was Hinata peeking from inside the house. "We'll have dinner now."

Yuki still felt enraged, but she did not allow it to seep through to her facade. They seemed pleased with her, and thought that they could schedule up her training. Whatever made them happy. As long as she could get away from them.

Yuki simply could not face the fact that they had decided a life for her. She thought that running away from them might... might... no, she didn't even want to acknowledge what she had heard the night before... to an extent. Why the hell did they think they control her life?

**The** next day, Kakashi and his squad paid her a visit.

"This is a nice surprise, Kakashi-niichan!" she exclaimed as she went up to him and gave him a hug. Kakashi's students stared, dumbfounded at their sensei's sensitive nature as he hugged her back.

"You look alright," he said.

"I _feel_ great!"

"Then they've been taking care of you well...."

"Kakashi-san," Hiashi called out to him. He had noticed their arrival and had gone out to meet them.

"Hiashi-san," Kakashi said, acknowledging his presence. Hiashi brought them to inside politely and provided the visitors with refreshments. He and Kakashi began a silent conversation as Naruto and Sakura took over Yuki's concentration. Sasuke lingered by both conversations, listening alertly. "I gather that she still-"

"I forbade them from announcing it too soon." Kakashi was looking at Hiashi with curiosity. "I see Reika when I see her. If she is anything like her mother...." Kakashi nodded in understanding.

"Sasuke-san?" Hiashi diverted his attention to the younger man that was to become leader of the Uchiha clan in the future.

"Hiashi-san?" Sasuke looked at him, pretending disinterest.

"I trust you have begun your-"

"Preparations, yes." Sasuke said curtly, with a slight blush creeping up to his cheeks. He turned away from them so couldn't see him blush. By 'preparation' was meant that Sasuke had to get his home ready. For another occupant. The Uchiha manor was huge... so Sasuke had to use all his free time to clean it all up. It hadn't been thoroughly cleaned since... since Naruto and Sakura had come by during his 16th birthday.... but that was quite a while back.

"I do _not_ think that simply preparing a home for her will help..."

Hiashi turned to Kakashi in contemplation and said, "I agree, Kakashi-san. There must be some way to soften the news."

"Let Sasuke visit," Kakashi said. Sasuke returned to the conversation, looking startled. "After all, they'll be-... there's no reason for them to not know one another. Maybe knowing Sasuke better would help. _Might_ help." Hiashi nodded in agreement. "Sasuke?"

"Aright," he said, trying his best to sound dispassionate and not excited.

"Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto shouted. He had forced himself in front of Kakashi and was pointing at a sheepish Yuki. "She's gotten thinner hasn't she? Kakashi-sensei!!"

Sasuke turned his head, ignoring Naruto's shouts as he 'conversed' with Kakashi, and looked at Yuki. Sasuke froze when he saw a fleeting look of anger coming from Yuki. It was replaced with a blank look and then her eyes curved up in a smile, just like Kakashi's. Sasuke nodded slowly and gave her a little smile before Sakura demanded her attention once more. What was Yuki hiding from him? Why was she angry?

"It's almost time for Yuki to return to her training," Hiashi announced a quarter of an hour later. Both Sakura and Naruto looked put out as the team gathered themselves near the gates. Sasuke lingered behind. Yuki wondered, what was he up to?

"Thanks for coming, everyone!" she said cheerfully. Kakashi patted her on the head affectionately and said his goodbye. The team left. But Sasuke was staying behind. "Sasuke-kun?"

"I decided to help you with your training. Hiashi-san has allowed me to stay here a while," said Sasuke, coming up beside her.

"So... he decided to stay, did he...?" Yuki thought angrily but managed to pull of a cheery expression. "Well, Sasuke-kun!" she said aloud. "The more the merrier, right?"

"Let's go, Yuki."

"Yes, Hiashi-sama!" Yuki ran off in his direction, grabbing Sasuke's arm and pulling him too. She missed his blush and pleased smile. She didn't notice when he wriggled his arm away and replaced it with his hand. Holding firmly on to her.

**It** had been nearly three weeks and the Hyuugas still did not 'release' her, saying that her control over her eye-abilities still did not reach their satisfaction. Although, Yuki had to admit - she no longer felt the danger of using the byakugan and sharingan at the same time -not that much anyway. Through Hiashi, she learnt to accept the different types of chakra flow that required the two to function properly. She was learning how to maintain both 'streams' without leaving any chance for 'leaks' which could _seriously_ endanger her. Her limit now reached five minutes. It was more than double her original limit.

Hiashi explained that if she went over this limit, she would pass out. Die even if she became too reckless. What they were teaching her wasn't a foolproof method to controlling both her bloodlimits but a way to increase her endurance of it.

Hiashi also explained that if she did something stupid - like during her fight with Itachi, if she had used the The Heavenly Spin, when she was at her _last_ few levels of chakra, she would die. That was that. Her body could _not _sustain another incident like that.

Sasuke visited everyday. Yuki knew what they were planning. She tried to discourage him, throwing off little hints of disinterest, it that could help in anyway... but that only made him stay on longer. At some points... she even had to admit that she liked his attention. As angry as she was... she couldn't deny the feelings she had for him. She couldn't deny... that as angry as she was at that 'pact'... she still liked Sasuke. And it wasn't because he was her cousin.

**One **cool night, Sasuke and Yuki found themselves alone outside the guest house. Yuki suspected that it would have been an intended plan by one of the Hyuugas, but allowed it to happen anyway.

They sat quietly on the porch. Enjoying each other's company.

"Thank you," said Sasuke, jerking her away from her thoughts. Her eyes rounded in surprise. Sasuke looked really uncomfortable. "Thank you for stopping me from killing my brother." Yuki felt even more shocked. Wasn't this man's life mission to annihilate him? Sasuke gulped down his embarrassment and proceeded with an explanation. "I don't think- .... Four years ago, I would've welcomed the chance, but now... now I've remembered what my original first ambition was. Itachi had always been part of my _second_ aim in my life. Revenge consumed my mind to the point that I forgot my original purpose."

"Your original purpose?" Yuki repeated, feigning ignorance. In truth, she knew what his 'original purpose' was - it was to rebuild his clan. It bordered on the topic that she was hoped not to arise. Sasuke was edging closer to her. She frowned in confusion. It was at these moments... these intimate moments that she confused... unsure of her feelings. Even the single most innocent gesture coming from that Uchiha could get all her senses to run amuck.

"If I killed Itachi... I wouldn't have been satisfied. I'd've killed someone that's part of my own blood. That would've made me no different from him." Sasuke looked sad now. He no longer had the air of indifference around him. Yuki saw sadness practically drip from his aura. "Then if I went back to my original purpose, I'd've gone through the rest of my life feeling guilt. That's no life."

"It's alright, Sasuke-kun," she said, putting her hand on his back. In a blink of an eye, _he was holding he_r. His strong arms around her waist and his chin resting in the hollow of her neck. "Sasuke-kun?" Her heart started beating faster. His warm breath was tickling her neck... making unthinkable visions start to go through her mind. She dearly wanted to hold him back but was feeling confused with her own emotions. Wasn't the reason why she felt for him because of the fact that they were related? Wasn't it...? And wasn't she supposed to be angry with him? His warm breath was searing her senses. She felt her heart quicken even more so as the dark-haired man held her tighter.

Sasuke lifted his head and leaned forwards till their foreheads touched. Eye to eye. His eyes were a little unfocused. How long had he wanted to hold her that way? He'd been keeping his feelings from her for so long... when all that he wanted to do since she woke up was to hold her like he was doing now. And maybe... if he only knew how she felt for him, maybe she would allow him to kiss her. Those luscious red lips that were always hidden underneath her mask. He looked at her, a silent plea in his eyes. If only she could hug him back.... Her lips were so close.... He could almost....

"You are so strong, Yuki-chan," he murmured. "You must've gone through so much... I wanted to grow up, too. That's why... thank you." Yuki wasn't entirely sure exactly what he meant. She wasn't sure if Sasuke even knew what he was talking about. What epiphany did he go through where Yuki functioned as the unknowing catalyst?

_Or was it all just an act?_

Yuki narrowed her eyes and willed her heart to stop beating so erratically. Sasuke noticed the change in her and jerked away in surprise. She was smiling, but her eyes were... empty.

"It's time to turn in, Sasuke-kun," she whispered. But Sasuke's mind was reeling at the emotional sting.

"I'm going to stay here." Sasuke watched her as she disappeared to her room. Why did she react that way? The dull pain in his chest was increasing. Was this... rejection? Sasuke found himself choking back a sob.

**The** next afternoon, there was a large gathering at the Hyuuga's main house. Yuki found herself sitting amongst a large circle of people. Her training was complete. It was time for her to go. It was time, she guessed, for them to 'announce' her engagement to Uchiha Sasuke.

"You must be wondering why we have all gathered here," Hiashi said when Yuki remained silent. The elders and other members of the clan sat around them. Hiashi, Neji and Hinata on one side. "We congratulate you for your success in your training." Still Yuki remained silent. Hiashi felt his nerves start pricking up in anxiety.

"That can't be the only reason why everyone's here!" Naruto exclaimed as he peered at each and every face in the room. Sakura punched him on the head and told him to be silent. Yuki turned around to smile, curving up her eyes like Kakashi usually did, at the two. She avoided looking at Sasuke and Kakashi.

"There is something, however, that you need to... be aware of before you leave." Still no reaction. His nerves were getting to him. Hiashi signaled Neji to take over the 'conversation'.

"Once you leave the gates of our clan, people will come," Neji began. "They'll come for you."

A/N Aaah... SasuYuki fluff? haha... so Sasu's finally made a move on her and he got rejected ooooh... that must sting his pride a lot!

Maliciously Creative:Thank you!!!!! =)

Blue Savage: sorry to disappoint but there won't be NejiOC -.-; Neji's just being... cool haha. I luv Neji. I'd always seen him as the protective elder brother type so that's how he'll be in this fic.


	13. Retaliation

**Disclaimer:** Naruto & co. don't belong to me. They belong to Masashi Kishimoto.

**Chapter: Retaliation**

**Yuki's** eyes narrowed. Finally. A reaction. Hiashi didn't realize that he had been holding in his breath. "They might try to kill you," continued Neji. "Or they might try to use you. We can't say for sure. But they will come for you." Neji paused. "But....We can't ask you to not leave these walls. We only wanted to warn you."

"Why?" The single word from the girl's mouth caused the whole den to silence. Up till then, tiny whispers could be heard. There was anger boiling under the tone of her voice. All recognized it, but refused to acknowledge it. What reason had she to be so angry? They hadn't even begun to tell her....

"Because you are a Kanzen Seishin. Because our ancestors before us, the original two Kanzen Seishin, created havoc during their time. Memories like the ones they had created are not so easily forgotten. They will see you as a symbol of it. They will try to destroy you." Again there was no reaction from Yuki. Was this the true face of the maroon-eyed jounin? Was she truly as calculative and analytical as she looked? Her eyes were sharply criticizing the room. Almost as if she were assessing every opening's chances of escape. What was on her mind?

"I see. I'll keep on my toes then," she said dryly. So this was what Sasuke meant when she had gone out of her coma. That people would be after her.

Neji wasn't done speaking yet, In truth, he was as much unnerved as Hiashi was with the rising tension in the room. And Yuki's silence.

"We found one way to protect you from most, if not all threats."

"Only one?" Neji's eyes widened. Did she know? There was something in the tone of her voice that indicated that... and her behavior... towards Sasuke. She couldn't've known... could she? Neji swallowed down his anxiety. How exactly was he supposed to tell her this?! He had grown so fond of her during her stay. Did he dare hurt her like this?

"You marry Uchiha Sasuke." Neji had decided to take the hasty approach.

"And if I don't?" The statement was followed by a refusal so quickly, before anyone expected it to come. Naruto and Sakura, the only two in the room that did not know, were frozen.

"You _will_ marry Uchiha Sasuke," said an elder. Yuki turned sharply at him. The elder gasped at the dangerous look in her eyes.

"I don't see why I have to," she said icily.

"No one would dare attack the wife of an Uchiha," Neji tried to reason.

"Besides," began another elder. "The Hyuuga made a pact with the Uchiha a long time ago, to assist each other's clans whenever _absolutely_ needed. This is the time. The Uchiha have nearly died out. Sasuke is the clan's only hope. Yuki. You can help him rebuild his clan." Sakura and Hinata were blushing at the implications. Naruto looked lost. Neji, Sasuke and Kakashi were tactfully expressionless. Hiashi looked a little worried.

"And if I refuse this... _duty_?" She spat the word out like it was the lowest thing in the world to her.

"There will be no room for refusal."

The silence in the room was overwhelming. Each and every person expected a fight to come up. They were disappointed.

"Fine." Waves of surprise washed over them. As Yuki stood up, they braced themselves, but she was quietly walking towards the exit. "Thank you for your hospitality and all your help. I'll be leaving now."

"She agreed to it... just like that..." Sasuke murmured. "I thought she would....."

"Fight back," Kakashi finished. They were all too surprised to move. Only Kakashi had recovered quick enough. He excused himself, politely, and then went after his sister.

"Sasuke," Neji called. Sasuke's attention snapped from the open exit to the Hyuuga. "You will call us if you need us." It was highly improbable, the young Uchiha hated to ask for help, but help had to be offered anyway. Sasuke nodded. He decided to get his teammates to leave before Naruto would start off a fight with the Hyuugas. Naruto was already standing up.

"We'll leave now," Sasuke interrupted, grabbing the blonde's arm before he could do anything. "Let's go, Naruto. Sakura." The Hyuugas simply watched their retreating backs leave the compound.

"She found out earlier, somehow," Hiashi said, breaking the silence. "That could be the only reason why Yuki acted the way she did."

"That means that she probably had enough time to concoct a plan," Neji thought in alarm. "What is she planning to do?"

**Yuki** burst into Tsunade's office. One look of her face and Tsunade dismissed all the company she had with her in the room.

"Transfer me back to an anbu."

"I- w-what?! Yuki-chan!"

"Transfer me. Then send me away, if only for a few months. Please do this for me," she said. There was such a desperate look in her eyes that Tsunade almost agreed. Almost.

"You've only barely had duties as jounin, Yuki-chan. Why?"

"This is not the life for me. Please, Tsunade-sama. I'll even accept that damned position as anbu captain right away." Yuki knew that it was an important fish that she was dangling on the line. They'd been trying to make her captain for years. Tsunade alone could not refuse refuse her request without checking with the village council. Tsunade clenched her teeth and closed her eyes.

"If that is what you want."

Yuki nearly collapsed in relief. She almost thought that she would refuse her. Tsunade left the room for a moment to call on the council. They were needed to re-initiate Yuki to being an anbu - and to initiate her as captain. Tsunade returned, telling her that it would take two days at least to collect all the members of the council as well as anbu team-leaders. Yuki nodded in acknowledgement and left. She didn't see Tsunade fall back in her chair as she closed the door to her office. She didn't see Tsunade start crying for her.

**"Why?**" Kakashi caught Yuki digging up all the scrolls she had used during her anbu days. Yuki paused, for a moment, and then continued to look through her belongings. "I expected - Yuki-chan!"

"I reinstated as anbu," she said, without looking back at him. "And I accepted the position as captain. I expect to be hearing from them in a few hours." Kakashi felt his heart skip a beat as he digested the information.

"I thought you said that you'd give up on that life..." he said gently.

"I did. But I'm going back."

"I don't want you to." Kakashi's statement froze her. She turned around slowly, her mouth fixed thinly. She wasn't wearing her mask. "Yuki, that's not a life I want for you."

"I don't have a _life_, niichan. My _life_ was already stolen when _they decided_ who I was going to spend the rest of my _life_ with," she said bitterly.

"But you're still trying aren't you? Still trying to run...."

"What else can I do? The Hyuugas have been so kind to me, even though- ... I can't fight them. I won't. Not for all their kindnesses."

"I would not have agreed with them if I didn't think that the match would benefit you...."

"You agreed to it?" Her eyes had snapped wide open.

"Yuki-chan... you must understand that Uchiha Sasuke could protect you in more ways than I can." Yuki hardened her face at this, slitting her eyes at her brother. "Didn't you hear what Neji said? No one would dare attack the wife of an Uchiha."

"What about an anbu captain?" she challenged. "I think that that position is just as good."

"You'd be risking your life for nothing when you have the perfect life lying on your feet!" Kakashi shouted.

"How _can_ it be _perfect_ when I can't _choose_ the life I _want_?" Yuki shouted right back.

**The** man outside the front door halted his hand in mid-air just before he could touch the door knob. Two voices were heard, yelling, probably at one another - one male, one female.

"How do you think _he_ feels when _he_ is also ordered to get married?" Male.

"I bet he thinks he's lucky to have someone already picked out for him. Never mind who because he could always get any girl he wanted, right?!" Female. "He thinks he can act all charming and immediately win me over. Well, he's wrong! I can see through his act! Do you know how _I_ feel about that? Do you think I _like_ being treated like that? To pretend like he needs me but really he's just doing his 'duty'?"

At this point the dark-haired man clenched his teeth, turned around, and with a scowl, ran away. "How dare she think I was deceiving her," he growled under his breath. He didn't hear her start sobbing.

"D-do you know how I- I... al-w-ways w-wanted something like t-that?"

Kakashi softened and turned away in guilt, but he caught her as she was about to fall, allowing her to sob into his jacket.

"I d-don't c-care anymore," she mumbled. 'I'm taking that frickin' job and I'm getting out of here. If only for a few months...."

"Alright," Kakashi said soothingly. "Alright."

The siblings stayed in that position for sometime before Yuki broke off, saying that she wanted to clean herself up. Kakashi nodded in sympathy and left her by herself. But as soon as he closed the door to her room, she collapsed on her bed and began another round of tears.

**"Kakashi-sensei!!**" came a strangled cry the next morning. Naruto was banging on the jounin's door. It was nearly 8 in the morning. His voice was joined with another, probably Sakura's. The silver-haired jounin got off his breakfast table and opened the door suddenly, allowing his two impatient students to fall on the ground. "Hey! What did you do that for?!"

"Being noisy," Kakashi grumbled as he massaged his temple. Sakura looked apologetically up at him while Naruto simply looked exasperated. The two picked themselves up off the ground. "What are you two doing here so early?"

"We wanted to talk to Yuki-chan!"

"Well, her room's over there, but I don't think-" Kakashi didn't get to finish his sentence as Naruto barreled off in the direction he had just pointed, Sakura following closely behind trying to tell him to slow down. He saw the two stop in their tracks after they opened the door to her room. Kakashi went over and peered over their shoulders... and froze. "Y-Yuki...." Her room was empty. All her things were stacked neatly but Yuki wasn't there. The bed was made. One of her outfits lay on top of the sheets... with a piece of paper on top of it. Did she... Did she already leave?

Kakashi swooped down on the sheet of paper and quickly glanced through it. He felt himself breaking a little inside. So... she'd already left in the night. She didn't even say goodbye to him personally.... Only that sheet of paper in his hands.

"Kakashi-sensei?" Sakura managed to squeak out.

"She says for you both to take good care of yourselves," Kakashi said nonchalantly. But his fingers were trembling. His hand went around the paper and crumpled it. The noise and the action startled both Sakura and Naruto out of their stupor. "Look's like I'm to finish up where she left off with your training. Kaze no jutsu wasn't it?"

**A** week passed without anyone noticing. They'd all found out that she had gone back to being an anbu - to Naruto's huge disappointment. But they couldn't do anything. Heck, they didn't even know _ where_ she was. They knew that she had returned to Konoha _some_ time during the week, but the exact time was too obscure. Only Hinata had seen her. And even then it was by luck. She had seen someone washing herself off by the lake Shino liked to go to. And the next second the person had disappeared. Hinata only saw her purple hair and glanced very briefly at the color of her eyes. It was a dark red. Almost maroon. It could've been Yuki. No one knew. When they went to check with Tsunade, they'd found that she had indeed returned, for only a brief while. Even Kakashi could confirm it. She had left a note for him telling him of her well-being. Despite that, only one person seemed indifferent. Sasuke.

But one night, to Naruto's delight, he had spotted her on her way out of Konoha. A little more than a week since they'd last seen each other. She was half-hidden in the trees, but both caught sight of each other. Naruto was about to scream her name, but decided against it when he saw how shifty she looked.

"Yuki-chan?" he said gently as he made his way to her. She was at that lake. The lake Hinata had last seen her at. "Yuki...."

"Good afternoon, Naruto-kun," she said with a little smile. "How have you been?"

"Where have _you_ been?" he hissed angrily as he folded his arms in front of him and glared at her. Yuki let out a little giggle and then replaced the hood on her head. The hand that held her anbu mask ready to cover her face. Naruto held that arm down and glared at her to prove his point. "Everyone's been looking for you."

"I know," she said solemnly. "I've just left a note to Kakashi-niichan to tell him that-"

"Why are you running?" Naruto interrupted roughly.

"I'm going off for another mission soon, Naruto-kun," she said gently as she took the hand that was holding on to her arm and lifted it off her. Naruto stepped back in surprise.

"When are you coming back?"

"Take care of yourself alright?" she said, ignoring his question. "You look well enough, so I suppose so." She placed a hand on his shoulder and gave it an affectionate squeeze. Naruto saw her place the mask over her face and was about to grab it off her in anger, but she had disappeared. Just like that.

Clenching his fist, Naruto growled at her sudden disappearance and then made his way back to the village. To the Hokage's office. To demand the reason why Tsunade was sending her off on so many missions. But Neji had intercepted his path halfway there. They were both rushing towards the Hokage offices.

"I just received word," the Hyuuga said calmly. Naruto's ears pricked up. "Yuki's anbu team have just arrived in Konoha." Naruto was confused. _Just_ arrived? But Yuki was all set to leave when he had seen her. And that was even less than five minutes ago. Naruto was about to tell him that when they skidded to a halt in front of Tsunade's office. There were a bunch of nurses and doctors running to and from there. There were some jounin littered around the place as well. What was going on? Neji pushed his way in, dreading that the ambush of medics had something to do with Yuki. Naruto followed him out of curiosity, already knowing that Yuki was alright.

"What's going on? Tsunade-baba?" Naruto asked when he reached her personal office.

"Naruto-kun," she beckoned him to her. Naruto's eyes widened when he noticed the blood on her hands. "Help me apply pressure here," she said, replacing her hand on a body with him. "I need to check on the others." Naruto was shocked. The feeling was quickly replaced with nausea.

Neji stood by the doorway, having suddenly been ordered to keep curious on-lookers out. His senses reeled at the stench of blood that was all around the room. He counted three bodies. All anbus. One female. Two males. No, the female wasn't Yuki. Her hair was too brown for that - or was that blood? In any case, he felt sickened at the sight of the bodies. Oh, they were all still breathing alright, but to even _begin_ to imagine the pain they were going through with all the wounds - Neji looked away in disgust.

"This was Yuki's team," Tsunade said to the two chuunin absently. "Lucky that she managed to stay conscious when she arrived, but these three...." She winced at that. Naruto and Neji looked at her questioningly. "There was an ambush. These three were told to look out for Yuki while she... but they were given a surprise attack instead. Yuki didn't know about it... the attackers were too silent. The she came and took care of all the attackers. That man, Naruto," she said, looking at the man Naruto was nearest to - the one Tsunade had just told him to apply pressure to his wound. "He helped Yuki carry the other two here. But they were surprised again from behind. Yuki was the only one left standing."

"How?" Neji asked. Tsunade glanced warily at him.

"After all the training you Hyuugas put her through, need you really ask?" There really wasn't any need to.

"Are these people-" Naruto caught sight of a still-bleeding wound and felt his stomach lurch.

"They'll live," Tsunade said solemnly.

"And Yuki? Where is she?" Neji demanded.

"She's alright. There were some internal injuries but I'd already taken care of that."

"Where is she?" Tsunade ignored him and called for one of the doctors to come in.

**"Kazekage-sama!** The envoy from the Hidden Leaf Village has arrived. Do we show him in?" Gaara turned his emotionless expression from the pile of papers on his desk to the shadowed figure at the door. He nodded and told everyone else in the room to leave with just a look of warning from his eyes. A hooded figure entered the room and the door was closed.

"So what do I call you?" he asked.

"Hatake," the person answered. Gaara narrowed his eyes. Either the envoy was a really young boy, or it was a girl. He narrowed his eyes even more at recognizing the name. To his memory, the name 'Hatake' could only belong to that silver-haired jounin that headed Naruto's squad. "My name is Hatake Fuyu Yuki. Konoha anbu captain." She unhooded herself.

"So the rumors were true...." he murmured. "You are Hatake Kakashi's sister. Child of Uchiha and Hyuuga. Welcome to the Hidden Sand Village. You will be safe here."

"Why so?" Yuki asked, her eyebrow arching up.

"Being Uchiha Sasuke's fiancé for one," he said with a smirk. Yuki sneered at him. "Another reason is that this is _my_ village. Whilst I live, every sand particle in this village is under my control. I _own_ this village." The two glared with such obvious hostility for each other. Yuki remembered the time Gaara had been an enemy. But she also remembered the time he had come and saved the leaf-nins from Orochimaru's lackeys.

"Will I be safe from _you_?"

"Frankly? As long as you are friend to Uzumaki Naruto." Yuki looked puzzled. _When did Naruto get in the picture?_ "He is the only person I respect. Regardless of whatever pact there is... if you betray him-..." He left his threat hanging.

"I'd be the last person to," Yuki said, looking and sounding devoid emotion. "Now that I have declared my loyalties, when do we begin?"

"I've yet to find you a substitute instructor. I don't have that much time to spend with you."

"I'm a fast learner."

"I'm sure you are, being an Uchiha."

"So why don't you teach me?" she asked.

"Like I said, I don't have _time_ to spend with you."

"Kazekage-_sama_. You don't sleep. You _have _ time." Gaara smirked at her boldness and then took out something from the drawers of his desk.

"Why don't you start reaching these scrolls and I'll get back at you later tonight. Night's the only time I've got for you."

"Alright." Gaara tossed her a key.

"Your apartment. Walk east about a block. The door has a black circle on the topside. It won't be hard to find." Yuki turned around to leave, but Gaara stopped her just as she was about to close the door. "Take off the hood. You look too conspicuous." Yuki smiled at that, though he couldn't see it through the anbu mask, and then said her goodbye as she closed the door.

True to his word, Gaara appeared at her doorstep later that night and urged her to follow him to his own home - where they could begin her training on the flat roof.

"Tsunade-sama said that among all that know fuuinjutsu (sealing skills), you stand out most. Why is that?"

"Apart from the demon inside me?" he asked steely. Yuki simply shrugged. "Your Hokage knows that... I have the most unusual collection of fuuinjutsu at my disposal. You should know this, if you read through the scrolls I gave you."

"I did. And they are unusual."

"Yes. Half of them can only be performed by those that have a demon already sealed inside them."

"Is that a necessary condition?"

"Yes. Otherwise, you'd just have to increase your level of chakra." Gaara was openly scrutinizing her. "You've almost reached your maximum. How pitiful."

"I gather that even _that_ would not be enough."

"Not even for a Kanzen Seishin. Let's begin."

A/N  nope... GaaraOc is never gonna happen -smile- just lettin y'all know.

Blue Savage: yay! Actually, I have read your fic but I couldn't find anything to comment on so I wanted to wait till the plot reveals itself more -smile- (Sakura fics aren't really of my interest... haha... I think I've just evolved to a Sakura-hater)

Nikko: uhm.. I generally update once a week, friday afternoons by my time (actually, normally at 3 pm or so, but yeah, that day - the last update- I was late by... about 5 or 6 hours haha... I didn't think anyone would actually notice. -today I'm late by 2 hrs... circumstances could not be helped) I can only update once a week, to keep the story unbroken and make it not seem like I'm in a slump (like I am right now) but... you can expect about 2 more updates after this (once a week) and then after that... I don't know... I'm gonna work on it though.... I have it written... but I don't like how that thread went so... I might have to change bits of the plot... It's tiresome but it has to be done -sigh-


	14. Strengthening Of Heart

**Disclaimer:** Naruto & co. don't belong to me. They belong to Masashi Kishimoto.

A/N Sheesh- I KnEw I forgot to do something last Friday (posting this, I mean)! This is will the last update you will see in three weeks. Time in this fic is passing by pretty fast this chapter. Assume they're in their 20/21st year now.

**Chapter: Strengthening of Heart**

**It** went on like so, for a month. For two months. For three months. Training at night. Resting in the day. Training with Gaara. Training with Temari. With Kankuro even at times. The siblings didn't mind helping each other. But there was always tension. The tension in Yuki broke at the middle of the fourth month.

"Enough! Gaara-san. You _know _this isn't what Tsunade-sama sent me to learn." Yuki looked like she was ready to pounce on the red-haired Kage. "I've already perfected the basics. You said it yourself! Now you'll have to-"

"You are in no position to demand. Your chakra level is pitifully small for the amount needed to further advance you."

"Is there no way out of it?"

"There is one... One that I think would be most appropriate for you... but... It's too risky. The Hokage wants you alive at the end of this session."

"What do you mean, Gaara-san?"

"You see... Hatake, I'd have to seal a demon or maybe a spirit inside you to give you the amount of chakra needed. Of course, to any 'normal' ninja, the process would be... tiring to say the least. But you-"

"Are a Kanzen Seishin," Yuki mocked. Gaara narrowed his eyes.

"The results cannot be predicted."

"I'll do it. I'll get this mission done, even if it costs me my life."

"Are you looking for death, Hatake... Fuyu Yuki? Yuki glared defiantly at him. "Are you truly a friend of Uzumaki Naruto?" Gaara narrowed his eyes even more.

"It is because I want to protect him that I go through this!"

"Naruto would disagree."

"What, to risk my life for something I want to do? This is _my_ ninja-way! Naruto-kun would _not_ disagree," Yuki challenged. Gaara simply looked at her in thoughtful contemplation.

"I know just the right spirit that would be suitable for you," the blood-red-haired man said darkly. "Demons are too much of a hassle to seal. Let's see how a Kanzen Seishin can handle the Fuyu Seishin (Winter Spirit)."

Gaara brought her to a dark room not an hour later, in his home. Yuki saw him create a circle of seals and had told her to stand in the center of it. And everything went blank.

**"Oi! **Sasuke!" Naruto called the man that seemed to be racing as fast as he could from Konoha. "We're only doing a delivery! There's no need to waste energy." Sasuke grunted and slowed down. Since when did that dead-last idiot start making sense? Naruto noted the change in him.

Sasuke had been like that for weeks - months even. Naruto frowned. Ever since they found out that Yuki had reinstated as anbu. And then she had disappeared. They went to Tsunade time and time again to get her to tell them where she was, but the Hokage refused to tell them. Sasuke never even bothered to ask. Sasuke barely even talked to them. Not even to regularly insult Naruto. It was getting on his nerves.

Naruto was actually jealous of him; and angry too, in a way. Yuki was to marry him. Marry. Sasuke. The outwardly cold, unfeeling jerk that was his best friend. What more, it was for_ protection_. What could Sasuke give her that he couldn't? But Naruto was resolved. If even Kakashi thought that the match would be best, then... it would be best. But that was no reason for Sasuke to act so uncaring about it.

The marriage was supposed to happen a month prior to Yuki's 'release' from the Hyuuga household. But the bride-to-be had not been back by then. Tsunade could only say the mission she sent Yuki on, depending on her own personal characteristics, could turn out to be a slow one. It could take months. A year. Years. Who knew? But Sasuke barely flinched. He merely shrugged it off as if he didn't care about the marriage. As if he didn't care about her. There was no reason for him to act like so. Even Kakashi thought it was odd of him. Kakashi had half-expected for Sasuke to go immediately in search of her. He never did. Not even when Neji asked him to go with him and Hinata in search for her. He barely even batted an eye. And Kakashi was worried. Sakura felt lost, because she didn't really understand much of what was going on.

"I miss Yuki," Naruto said, just out of the blue. Sasuke nearly lost his footing. "I wonder how she's fending off on her mission. I wonder if she's by herself. Hm, Sasuke? But she's so good by herself anyway. She wouldn't need that much help." Sasuke snorted. Naruto scowled at his back. "Of course, there was that thing with the pact-" Naruto paused. Still no reaction from that jerk. "Maybe she realized that she'd never see anything in you. That's why she left." A muscle in Sasuke's jaw twitched. "She probably thought that, since you were such an unfeeling bastard anyway, you wouldn't care if she left. S'not like you'd _miss_ her or anything. Know what? Maybe I should go find her - wherever she's at. She'd probably welcome _me_ and _forget_ about _you_." Sasuke didn't miss the hint there and couldn't stop himself form reacting. He turned around and tackled Naruto. They fell to the ground wrestling each other.

"How can you think she'd care anything about you?" Sasuke snapped as he pinned Naruto down. Naruto just flared back up at him. "If _you_ care so much about her, then go!" he said roughly, standing back up, glaring right back at the blue-eyed blonde. "Go! Now! See if I care!"

"I was the last person to see her before she left Konoha," Naruto said, sneering up at him.

"Still, she didn't care enough to tell _you_ where she was going, did she?"

"At least she took her time to _see me_! When was the last time _you_ saw her?" Sasuke glared at him murderously. "But since you don't care, why should you give a damn if _I_ was the _ only_ one that saw her leave?" At that, Sasuke lunged at him again.

Sasuke had snapped. All the tension just came pouring out. Naruto did his best to defend himself from the enraged Uchiha. Sasuke had unconsciously turned on his sharingan and was attacking him with such a passion.

"That's it, Sasuke," Naruto thought as he braced himself for that kick Sasuke aimed to his side - that couldn't be dodged. "Let it all out." It was nightfall before Sasuke decided to stop fighting. Night before Sasuke let himself collapse on the ground. Midnight before Sasuke realized that he was sleeping next to a smoldering campfire, opposite to Naruto - who was still wide awake.

Sensing that he was awake, Naruto began telling him about what had truly happened the night the Kyuubi was sealed. His story was met with silent contemplation. "Did you know that Yuki became an anbu when she was only 9?" Sasuke looked at Naruto in surprise. "Yeah, Tsunade-baba told me that they would've recruited her sooner but she was just too young. Also, the Third didn't really want her to." Naruto chuckled then. Sasuke's expression turned bewildered. "Of course, nothing would have stopped her if she really wanted to. Tsunade-baba said that once Kakashi-sensei had adopted her, there was no stopping her. Kakashi-sensei turned out to be the only person she listened to. Even then... she's pretty head strong." Naruto's relazed chuckle met with an amused grunt. "Oi, Sasuke, can I ask you something?"

"What is it?"

"Why didn't you stop it?"

"Stop what?

"Aww... c'mon. You know what I mean. Why didn't you stop them from making the agreement?"

"Kakashi-sensei didn't say anything against it."

"I wasn't asking about Kakashi-sensei." Sasuke chose to be silent for a moment.

"Maybe I didn't want to stop it," he said reluctantly.

"So you _do_ care about her!" Naruto jumped up and looked at him in triumph. Sasuke was glad that the darkness could hid his face - he was blushing.

"And if I do?" he challenged.

"If you do... and you promise to always keep her happy, I'll back off. If you don't..." Naruto left his threat hanging.

"How can I keep her happy if she doesn't like me anyway?" Sasuke grumbled. His mind wandered back to that time when she had claimed that his attentions weren't real. His heard softened. Maybe she was just confused....

"She _does_ like you, you idiot!" Naruto growled. "She's just pissed off -scared even that people just went up and decided her future for her."

"Let's say she does, how is that going to get her to reconcile to... t-to...."

"Marrying you? I don't know. You'll just have to find some way to make it right."

"...Naruto?"

"What?"

"For once you don't sound like an idiot."

"Sasuke, you jerk!!!"

"Go to sleep. Early day tomorrow, moron." Sasuke was resolved. When they got back, Sasuke would ask for leave and then go look for Neji and Hinata to help them with their search for Yuki. When they got back. And when she's found, he'd ask her. He'd ask her properly if she would marry him. He'd give her that choice. Sasuke felt himself smiling up to the stars. But not after he knocked some sense into her. He was falling in love with her. God help them both.

**The** next morning, Sasuke woke up to the smell of roasted meat. For breakfast?! And just _who_ was cooking? _ Naruto_?! Naruto looked at the still-sleepy man with a huge grin on his face.

"I figured we could use a bigger breakfast this morning if we're gonna cover enough distance today to make up for yesterday." Sasuke looked away in discomfort.

"Naruto... about last night...."

"Don't worry about it. I've got nothing against the match anymore. I admit there was a time I would've... but not anymore." Sasuke was silent. "Sasuke?"

"What is it?"

"Umm... Yuki... Yuki and I sort of shared a room during our mission a little way back..." Sasuke lifted an eyebrow at his anxiety. "We uh... we were sort of... sort of... in our opposite sex bodies." Naruto was blushing. "And we nearly got caught you see, so we had to... it wasn't _really_ bad, but the position was... compromising just the same."

"What are you trying to say, Naruto?"

"We were both undressed alright! Under the bed sheets." Sasuke found himself chuckling at Naruto's blush. They both looked surprised at it. Sasuke chuckled again. Naruto smiled. Suddenly they were both laughing. "It didn't go anywhere, Sasuke, I swear," Naruto said solemnly. "Now I think that it felt more like incest more than anything."

"So it's alright to you?"

"Just don't hurt her, Uchiha."

"Naruto... you can really surprise me at times."

"Of course! I am Uzumaki Naruto! I'll be the next-"

"Is the food ready yet?" Naruto glared at him for the interruption.

**"Sasuke-kun**! Naruto-kun!" Sakura called to them as they passed by the training grounds on their way to the Hokage's office. Sasuke gave the go ahead for Naruto so he could go over to Sakura and Kakashi as he continued his path. He hadn't gone more than a minute when Kakashi appeared in front of him. Sasuke passed him without even looking up - for all that he'd grown, Kakashi was still taller than him.

"So you're finally going off."

"Don't hurt her, yeah,_ I know_. Whatever," he mocked. "Naruto already gave me this 'talk'." Kakashi stopped him by putting a hand to his head, like he used to during his younger days.

"I thought earlier that I'd have to do something desperate."

"You? Desperate?" Sasuke snorted.

"Yeah, I was thinking about claiming my right to your family's name so she didn't have to be married off to you if she didn't want to. At least she'd still have an Uchiha for a brother. Right?" Sasuke stood stock still, not even daring to breath. How could Kakashi even think of that? Didn't he hate his father? Sure, Sasuke was alright to him, but didn't he hate the rest of the Uchihas? Even dead as they were. "That would've made it easier on everything. She wouldn't have had to run off in the first place."

"I know. But that time is done and over with."

"Good luck."

"Why don't you come with me? Uncle?" he mocked, but with a silly grin on his face. Kakashi was temporarily knocked off the center.

"I'd like to, but there's been a shortage of shinobi lately. Not safe to leave this village defenseless." Sasuke nodded in understanding. Kakashi would prepare Konoha for her return. Sasuke walked to the Hokage's office feeling relatively relieved.

"Tsunade-sama..."

"No missions for a bit, Sasuke-kun. You need rest," she said firmly.

"I want - May I have a month off?"

"What?" she asked in surprise. Sasuke calmly repeated his request.

"It's about time, isn't it?" Tsunade looked at him with wonder in her face - it quickly turned into a look of satisfied determination. "It might help if you tell me where she is." Tsunade shook her head ruefully.

"I can't help you with that," she said. "I promised not to divulge information of her location to anyone. But... good luck. Uchiha Sasuke."

Uchiha Sasuke left Konoha as prepared as he could in an hour's time. He didn't want to waste any more time. Sorely regretting all that he had done that delayed his departure from Konoha. At least he was off now. He'd make it up to her. He wasn't that cold, unfeeling jerk, as Naruto had often called him. He'd changed. He'd grown up. Now it was time to face himself... again.

"Wait for me, Yuki," he thought tenderly, determination written all over his face. "I'll come for you."

**Yuki** woke up feeling dizzy. Nauseous even. She hadn't felt so bad since... that last mission from Konoha. Her insides were churlish. Her skin felt cold. In short, she felt horrible. "Where am I?" she asked hoarsely.

"I've sent you back to your apartment."

"Gaara-san?" When she could fully open her eyes, she found that she was lying down on top of a bed. The bed of her temporary home. She heard a trickle of sand nearby. She was getting used to that sound. After some time... it had begun to feel oddly comforting. "What happened?"

"You were adamant about finishing your mission." What did that have to do with how she was feeling? "How do you feel?"

"Sick. Cold. Like I'd just been clobbered over the head. My eyes... are aching."

"The Seishin is trying to settle down I see."

"Sei-..shin?" Yuki suddenly sat up. "The Fuyu Seishin! What happened to it?" Gaara pulled down her blanket and pointed to her right side. Between her chest area and her waist. Yuki warily lifted her shirt. There was a seal there! "It's... inside me?" The Spirit of Winter... was inside her... was that why she felt so cold? Her hand made it's way over her heart. It was still beating. But it was beating slower. _Slower._ Her eyes widened.

"Nothing to worry about," Gaara said. "The Fuyu Seishin is a relatively mild spirit. I've placed a barrier outside your heart to keep the spirit from affecting it."

"But-"

"_I said_," Gaara said, almost irritably. "There's nothing to worry about. Your heart is beating slower than usual, I know. But you were the one that wanted to take this risk. Live with it," he said coldly. Yuki felt stung by that, but then focused her emotions towards her resolve. Now she could complete the mission. Now she had _the chance_ to complete the mission... if she could live through it. "But I'm warning you. I do not know what could happen to you while the spirit is still trying to settle down. Who knows? If you develop an 'allergic reaction' to it, you might even die. Otherwise, you're still fine. So there's nothing to worry about."

A/N Nope. She's still not all-powerful. Sure she's got an extra reserve of chakra but I've made it so she's on level with Naruto - sort of. I mean, she's still a girl, hence not much chakra to begin with anyway. And the Spirit of Winter that's sealed into her will cause trouble later on. I mean, if Kyuubi's all _fire_, why can't we have something all _cold_. The Fuyu Seishin is it. But like all normal people, no one can stand the cold for too long... it slowly eats up their body. Like frost bite. And you get all those kinks and you get stiff and stuff like that... right? Your body just doesn't function properly... much.

Thank you Sharingan284 & Blue Savage for reviewing.

I won't be updating for about 3 weeks, just letting y'all know - exams and stuff, I need to focus. But I'm still open for criticism(s)!!! Mail me or review whatever... I know that at least someOne will have something to say about... this chapter ha-ha-ha -sheepish look- (yea I know you probably will want to flame me, I don't care, I like it this way) alright then, I'll be back in 3 weeks.


	15. Return Home

**Disclaimer:** Naruto & co. don't belong to me. They belong to Masashi Kishimoto.

A/N Right- three weeks long gone, and this is all I've go to show for it- I had NO idea that going through exams could be this tough, and the worst thing is that this 'exam season' won't end till the 25th of November! -sob- (this means that I will no longer be updating regularly, time I used to spend to writing will have to be spent on revising. I've got all the basics of this story down but I lack the time to type it out - this means that I have absolutely NO idea when I'll be able to spare enough time to devote myself into this eeee- my bad.)

What you might not like: Rape. Err.. sort of. You won't see it. It didn't _actually_ happen. But the implications are there.

**Chapter: Return Home**

**Not** all was good at the Hidden Sand Village. They made a mistake. A big mistake. Yuki had suggested that they left the protection of the Village for a bit so she could at least see how the outside had changed. She'd been cooped up inside the village for too long. Temari and Kankuro were watching her in the day. Gaara looked over her at night. She was restless, to sum it all up. But in the end... she got more than what she asked for.

Gaara looked down at the still, curled up female figure that was lying within the comforts of his sand. Gaara had made the sand into about three quarters of a sphere, where only he could look through the opening. The girl's anbu mask was broken in half, her cloak shredded to rags. He clothes ripped. Slits on her half-mask revealed angry blood-stained gashes.

They were training out till dusk. They were trying to assess the limits of her newly found chakra and they had drained her to her last drops. Yuki had collapsed on the grown, dangerously drained. Way too dangerous. She was pale-... paler than usual. Gaara was worried, as she attempted to sit back up, he ordered her to lay still and keep quiet while he went off, at her insistence, to look for more water for her. Yuki felt greatly relieved at his assistance. But not for long. That was when _they caught her_.

Gaara wasn't around, and she was basically defenseless. _Easy picking_. Three men came, grabbed her and escaped. Yuki barely had time to register that in her mind before they tied up her limbs and gagged her. It was not good. She was completely out of chakra. Her muscles were stiff, sore and basically useless. There was nothing she could do.

She couldn't even scream when they started touching her. Her mind _snapped_ and she couldn't feel anything. She didn't even realize that her muscles were moving reflexively at their violating touches. The world was dead to her. Terror had closed her mind. Gaara openly winced at the memory. He had come on time - ... before they could do anything _seriously damaging_ to her. They were fools that thought that they could go against their Kazekage... that thought that their demon leader had already _used_ her. So they thought that it would've been alright if they... played around with her too. _Fools_.

Yuki, unbound, crouched near his legs and barely looked up at him. She didn't say a word. Gaara had summoned the sand to keep her safe instead.

"What happened?" Temari gasped as Gaara brought the girl in. Kankuro furrowed his brows in worry. Gaara answered her in an equally short sentence.

"She's in shock," he said, making the sand go forth towards his elder sister. "What do you think?" Temari looked solemn. The scene just wasn't right. Was this the girl that had become captain of Konoha's prestigious anbu squads? Was this the Kanzen Seishin?

"I'll take her to my house. Best not bother her for a while. Gaara..." Gaara turned his eyes away from the purple-haired girl to his blonde sister. "I know her training is important, but would you at least give me a month?"

"A week," he said, shaking his head. But it was barely two days before Yuki had asked him to come. She refused to see anyone other than him and Temari. It was a week before Kankuro would be let in. Two weeks before she stepped out of Temari's home. Her recovery was amazing, but alarming just the same. At times, Temari would see her crying to herself alone at night, thinking that no one else was awake. Sometimes she could hear her say one word - it was almost imperceptible - it sounded like 'niichan'. She must've been homesick.

The rest of her training went well. Gaara suggested that he and Yuki would leave for Konoha as they wrapped up the training. Temari and Kankuro would stay and protect the village. Then something surprising happened just as the two left the village.

"Yuki-chan!" came a shriek. Yuki stepped back quickly, holding a kunai in front of her defensively. There was a blurred figure coming at her from the front. It stopped only inches away from the sharp point of the kunai. Yuki nearly dropped it when she recognized who it was.

"Hinata-chan!" Yuki gasped as she lowered her arm and allowed the normally-shy girl to envelope her in a hug. Hinata broke down, sobbing into Yuki's clothes. Yuki awkwardly patted her on the back. "What are you doing here?"

"Silly girl," muttered a male voice. Yuki twisted her head and found herself looking straight into her other cousin's eyes. She unconsciously stepped nearer to Gaara. Hinata looked befuddled. "Is this where you've been hiding?"

"Hi-..ding?" she said, looking a little nervous as she looked at Neji. "I haven't been _hiding_. I've been on a mission." Neji snorted.

"You were trying to escape from_ us_." Neji stepped forward and Yuki immediately took a few steps back. Neji noted the terrified look in her eyes.

"Gaara, I've changed my mind," she said shrilly.

"No," he said firmly. "We finish this training as we go back." Neji and Hinata were staring at their cousin with open curiosity.

**"Shit**." Neji let out a string of curses that Hinata didn't even know he knew.

_Yuki was out cold_.

How did that happen? Neither of the Hyuugas knew. It was odd. She was practicing a jutsu with Gaara when she just... _fell_ to the ground. Gaara didn't even miss a beat as his sand gathered her up. It was almost as if... he had anticipated it.

"What are you doing?" Neji growled. Gaara ignored him and let the sand form a cylinder around the unconscious girl.

"Unless you can carry her all the way to Konoha, I'll be carrying her. It'll be faster this way, anyway. Hyuuga?" Neji nodded grudgingly and continued walking on. Hinata looked unsurely between the two.

**They** arrived at Tsunade's office with basically half the ninjas of Konoha following them. All were curious but only few realized what the Hyuugas were probably doing with the Kazekage. They found it odd that Gaara was travelling without an escort from his own village. Odder still that he had some sort of cylinder made of sand following him.

"Kazekage-dono," Tsunade ushered him into her office. It appeared that she was already informed of his coming arrival at the village. "What brings you to us?" she inquired, ushering him to a seat opposite her table. With her eyes, she ordered the two Hyuuga escorts to wait across the room on the couch.

"Hokage-dono. Thank you for letting me in Konoha in such short notice." Introductions were over. Gaara brought forth the cylinder and cleared the things on Tsunade's desk with his sand. The sand slowly cleared away from the cylinder that had made its way to her desk. "I thought it was time this little girl was returned to her home."

"Yuki!" Tsunade gasped. "What happened to her?" she demanded after checking her pulse. It was normal. Gaara tilted his head towards their curious onlookers. "Neji, Hinata, please wait outside." Neji looked put out and very suspicious, but did not argue with her. Hinata took his arm and pulled him out before he decided to change his mind.

"I must say, Hokage-dono, frankly, I first thought you were a little... off-the-top? Sending anyone to learn anything from me." Tsunade didn't know what to make of that. "I didn't expect you to send this... Kanzen Seishin."

"So you know."

"I would be foolish not to."

"Of course, _Kazekage_-dono. But why is she-?"

"It's finally settling down."

"What? What do you mean?" she asked. Gaara didn't answer. "What is settling down?"

"The Fuyu Seishin. To complete her training, I sealed the Seishin in her to give her access to more chakra." Tsunade's face displayed shock. "Nothing to worry about," he said with a shrug. "The Fuyu Seishin is a very mild spirit, but her body still needs to get used to it."

"Why?"

"I've explained why."

"Why didn't you tell me first?"

"I wasn't aware that I had to answer to you, _ Hokage_-dono, in matters you requested _me_ to accomplish. In any case, this is not what you should worry about. There is another matter-"

"_Sasuke!_" Tsunade gasped. Sasuke had just appeared in the middle of the room.

"I-is s-she here?" he choked out, kneeling over. Sasuke was a mess. His entire body was tainted with blood. Tsunade spied a shuriken half-stuck on his leg. It was beyond alarming. "Is she here?" he repeated with more force as he pushed his body forward.

"She's here," Tsunade whispered, still in shock. There was a flicker of relief in his eyes before he coughed. Blood splattered to the floor.

"Don't let them get her." Those were his last words before collapsing near the floor.

"Don't let _who_ get her? Tsunade thought as she left the desk to go by Sasuke's side, to feel his pulse. It was beating erratically.

"Hokage-dono. If you would listen..." Gaara said, emphasizing on each word. Tsunade stood up and glared at him. Gaara let out a little 'hmph' and then told her what had happened those few days back that had caused Yuki to withdraw to her present state. That had caused Yuki's mind to withdraw to her fear and terror.

"The pact was supposed to keep her from-" Tsunade couldn't even say it.

"Tsunade-dono." Tsunade gaped. It was the first time the young man called her by her name. He hadn't before, not even when she had asked him to those many years ago when he had first become Kazekage. "That incident... _cannot_ happen again." Gaara walked around the room for a bit and then stopped near Sasuke's body. "Hatake-san, there is no need to hide."

"What did you do to her?" Kakashi asked angrily as he stepped out from his hiding near the window.

**A** 'custody' battle began between Kakashi and even Naruto, since Sasuke remained 'disabled' for the first few days. However, the Hyuugas had taken up a position in his place. Sasuke felt the entire situation to his distaste. He could do nothing to stop it till he regained control over his body as a whole. Not even Kakashi would listen to him. Why on earth would they want to fight over her custody anyway? Legally, she still belonged to the Hatake family. By verbal agreement, she was already promised to the Uchiha.

Naruto, he could understand, only wanted to protect her interests and keep her in Konoha, but wasn't Kakashi doing that as well? And he had never asked the Hyuugas to do anything and yet there they were, arguing, _for_ him, apparently. Sasuke understood that they would all want her. Heck, who didn't want her? Here was a unique powerhouse. No one was just going to leave it lying around. Unused. Sasuke winced.

He was lying in his room that night, when he recalled the events that brought him immediately back to Konoha. It was a messy business. It was disgusting. It was horrifying. And it was downright humiliating.

**_flashback_**

"Really? A Kanzen Seishin? Like... those two siblings from...?" The Uchiha had just entered a bar. He was in the Hidden Sand Village. He'd traced Neji and Hinata all the way there and had decided to rest for a bit at an inn. The bar was a natural place to go to. At the mention of Yuki, Sasuke immediately tried to find a place to sit closest to them. To eavesdrop. Maybe they knew something of her whereabouts.

"Yeah, who could've thought? After all the trouble the Hyuuga and Uchiha have made in creating those two, you'd think they wouldn't try to do it again. Do you remember when they told us about what happened when Konoha started becoming all powerful?"

"Yeah, they ripped up half of what Konoha is now, didn't they? Too bad for the First and Second Hokage. They had to reconstruct the entire place just because of them."

"They really are a nuisance."

"Yeah, they could mean trouble."

"So. This Kanzen Seishin now, as I heard, is female." Sasuke clenched his jaw. There was an odd lilt to the man's voice. He was drunk though. He was leaning half away from his seat towards his friend. Disgusting.

"Female?"

"Yeah, and a pretty young thing too. Too bad she was promised to the Uchiha."

"Uchiha Sasuke? You don't mean-"

"Well, he's the only Uchiha around isn't he?"

"Che. Why do they normally stick all these high-and-mighty people together? S'not like they can't share their bloodline with the rest of us... or something."

"Yeah, but _every_body wants their kids to be powerful." They were slurring now. Sasuke still didn't like the way their conversation was going.

"Hey, so where's that girl now?"

"Dunno. From what I heard she was last seen with the Kazekage." The other man let out a snort.

"I bet _he_ wants a piece of that bloodline too."

"I wouldn't be surprised if he's already done with her. I heard a while back that these bunch of people got killed 'cos they tried to interrupt him and-" Sasuke was gone immediately. "Heh? Where's that guy?"

"What guy?"

"He was sitting right behind you."

Sasuke was running, almost frantically, going as fast as he could outside. Towards the offices of the Kazekage.

"Who goes there?" Sasuke appeared right outside the door connecting to the main office. Only a surprised sand-nin stood in his way.

"The Kazekage. Where is he?" The sand-nin didn't answer so Sasuke roughly pushed him away from the entrance and went inside the room - just in time to see someone escaping from the room through a window. Sasuke gritted his teeth and made to follow that person. There were two people. Both were in cloaks. "Hey! Where do you think you're going?" The two ran off faster. "Damn," he thought, picking up his speed as well. One of the cloaked figures looked back. A Konoha anbu mask! "Yuki!" The two stopped running and took battle stances.

"Identify yourself," said the girl behind the anbu mask. Sasuke halted abruptly. It didn't sound like Yuki. Who was this person? Hell, Yuki would've recognized him, would she have?

"Any true Konoha anbu would have recognized me." The other cloaked figure turned and whispered to the one with the mask.

"Uchiha Sasuke?" The one that spoke, the one with the anbu mask, quickly looked around. "There's no time to speak. We need to run." Sasuke felt a little perplexed. Why run? The anbu was definitely _not_ Yuki. So who was it? Why didn't they recognize him? Heck, he'd've thought the whole world would've known him since that incident during the his first chuunin exam. Something was moving from his left. His hand immediately moved to the holster on his leg. The two in front of him were increasing their speed.

"What are you running from?" Sasuke asked, trying his best to catch up to them. He'd already decided that they weren't his enemies.

"You should take better care of your fiancé, Uchiha," said the second person in a cloaked figure. It was male. Sasuke felt like punching him for his statement but kept his cool, unaffected mask on his face. No need to get all emotional. That was Naruto's department. "People have been swarming all around, trying to attack us in every direction."

"Why?"

"What do you mean 'why'?" hissed the female. "There's a Kanzen Seishin within their reach, and you're asking us 'why' they want her?" Sasuke grunted, knowing how silly his question was.

"Who are you?" The girl's answer was interrupted by a loud shout. A dark blurred figure was making its way towards them. A fight ensued. It was a close fight. Ninjas kept coming one after the other. The two stranger's teamwork was impeccable but Sasuke was having a hard time keeping up. He wasn't used to their tactics. But he was flexible enough to follow most of their moves. The sharingan helped a _lot_.

"Che. So that's why they keep telling us that the Uchihas are 'terrifying'," said the male cloaked figure grudgingly. He had just watched the Uchiha... decapitate... one of the ninjas.

"Shut up, Kankuro. Concentrate," the female hissed. Sasuke finally realized who they two were.

"You two...-" Kankuro took off his guise.

"Yeah, we were told to take care of things here," he grumbled as Sasuke took in his form.

"Stop talking," the female snapped. That must've been Temari. "Uchiha. We should run to the forest. That way we can distract them and you can escape. Go back to Konoha, and warn them before they realize that she's already gone."

"Konoha-?" The trio began dashing their way towards the forests. "You mean she's already gone back?"

"Yes."

"Temari, you better take off your cloak before they decide to ambush you, and still think you're her."

"Not till the Uchiha leaves. Then I'll take it off."

"You're taking a big risk here."

"It doesn't matter," she said shortly. "All fighting will stop once I drop this disguise anyway. They wouldn't dare attack me." Sasuke heard the implications of her smirking at that thought. "Kankuro!! Uchiha!!"

_**end flashback**_

That was when they ambushed them, just as Kankuro expected. Sasuke had no idea they wanted Yuki that much. _Dead or alive_, one of them had mentioned. _Just make sure you have her body_. Sasuke winced at the thought. Thank god they didn't find her. Her body didn't have any protection against the methods a ninja could use to extract the secrets of her body from her. Who knows what kind of jutsu they could discover just be dissecting her body. On his way back to Konoha, after separating from the siblings, he was ambushed yet again. So many ninjas. He couldn't even keep count of where they had come from. But they stopped coming when he reached within close range of Konoha. The distance, he suspected, anbus began keeping watch of. Maybe the anbus were helping him.... But Sasuke at that time was too distracted to notice the few curious eyes that glinted between the trees. He went straight and used a jutsu to transport him to the Hokage's office.

The night sky began to rain. Perfect. Sasuke stood up from his bed and closed the windows and stood by the doors that led to the balcony.

It suited his mood perfectly.


	16. Preparation

**Disclaimer:** Naruto & co. don't belong to me. They belong to Masashi Kishimoto.

**AN**: yes, I've been gone for very long, only just finished with this chapter, exams still going on, still driving the road of insanity, but I still love me for not giving up on this fic :) _ **fluff alert**_. this chapter, the next and _maybe_ the one after that too.

I've just realized that I'd initially written Yuki with a very fiery temperament (a lot of swearing and foul language)... and now... she's cooled down a LoT... hmmm..... or may this is just the break before she fires up again. yeck. I'm halfway to attacking her right now. She's too passive at times. Or is there something else that's wrong? Hmm...

**Chapter: Preparation**

**Some** months passed as she lay comatose. Sasuke, Naruto, along with some others, on the account of Konoha's power-needy state, became jounins. As they were gone for the jounin exams, Sakura stayed behind and joined intensive training to become a medic-nin. Other ninja's of Konoha were also forced to undertake intensive training in their respective fields. Konoha was attempting to strengthen itself - trying to gather all available power to the optimum.

However, the reason why the village forces were suddenly 'shaken awake' was only known to a select few.

**"Welcome** back," said Sakura. Sasuke and Naruto had only just come back to the village after having successfully passed their jounin exams. Sakura had been both waiting for them and watching over Yuki at the same time. Currently, the three were in Yuki's room at the hospital.

"Glad to be back," Naruto answered, his chest heaving forward as he sighed rather loudly. Sasuke muttered the same thing and then found himself a sweat next to the bed. "How is she?"

"Yuki-chan's improved a lot! Even Tsunade-sama said that she could wake up anytime now." Silence occupied the room after her half-hearted cheerful statement. "I... You two look so tired. Why don't you go relax first? I can hold down the fort here for a few more hours. Kakashi-sensei should be coming back here soon too."

A gust of wind announced the sudden appearance of the Kazekage - Gaara. Over those months since he had first arrived, he hadn't set out of the village. Not once. Claiming that he had to stay because of a promise. A promise, which somehow, they all knew was made to Hatake Yuki.

"When she wakes up," he said. "It would be better for all of you to not be here."

"Huh?!" Naruto was the first to react. The other two simply watched him in stunned silence. "Why, Gaara?" Naruto demanded.

"Sorry, Naruto," he answered slowly, looking at each one of them directly. "It's complicated." Without another word, he turned to the side to assess Yuki's condition for a brief moment and then left the room. Naruto was just about to call him back when Tsunade entered the room.

"Gaara-dono is right," she said solemnly, as if she had been listening to them all the while. "If you happen to be in the room when she wakes up, clear out and call me." It was odd, she had such a sad, despairing look in her eyes. Sasuke caught it and nearly jumped off his seat in surprise but Naruto got to it faster.

"But _why_?!" he demanded, speaking for all three of them. Sakura watched the tension rise uneasily.

"It's complicated," Tsunade said finally. She turned around and looked away. "But temporary. Don't worry. She's a strong girl."

"On the surface," Sasuke muttered while looking at Tsunade. They looked at each other for a moment in absolute clear understanding.

"Sasuke-kun?" Sakura said timidly.

"Sasuke?!" Naruto yelped in surprise. "Do you know something?" Naruto looked at him and Tsunade carefully and in frustration. "Tell me!"

Sasuke took in a deep breath and looked away. "I don't know anything."

**Weeks** went by slowly. Tension was brewing. Patiently. It was everywhere. Crawling in every corner, every street. People were tense. And the worst thing was, not many knew why.

Sasuke, Naruto, Sakura and Kakashi too, spent shifts at the hospital, looking after Yuki... looking, while hoping, that she would wake.... It frustrated them, not knowing why she was like that in the first place. Sasuke, Kakashi knew... only about that unpleasant incident that had happened to her... but neither knew why she was lying there... looking paler than usual, feeling cold as death.

During one of his shifts there, Naruto by chance fell asleep on her bed, leaning from his place on the chair and holding her hand. He wasn't quite asleep though, and wasn't quite awake either. In any case, he was thinking about her...

"Yuki-chan... when will you ever wake up?"

"Uzumaki-san," said a young girl. Her shadow appeared in front of him - he nearly jumped. "Uzumaki-san..."

"Huh? Kid? What are you doing here?" Naruto asked, squinting his eyes in the direction of the little girl. She was standing at a distance, and Naruto couldn't make more of her than her outline.

"Uzumaki-san..." she said timidly.

"What is it...?" Naruto asked, lifting himself a little. "What's the matter?"

"Ah... I forgot," she said, with a little lift in her tone which made him think that she was smiling. He rubbed his eyes... but it seemed that her image would stay blurry. "Naruto-kun, wasn't it?" Naruto watched quietly, his mind trying to place the voice... he couldn't see the little girl's face but her voice sounded very familiar. "I'm sorry, Naruto-kun."

"Huh?"

"Naruto-kun... don't you remember me?"

"Huh?"

"Naruto-kun..." At that point, she started to sob, and something sharp shot through his heart. He realized who that little girl was. "Naruto-kun."

"Wait... are you-"

"Naruto-kun, please don't hate me! I know I couldn't make friends with you earlier when we were kids but please-... please...." The vision of the little girl became clearer and clearer as Naruto shot forward. But as the image became sharper... it was also... disappearing.

"What are you talking about?" he asked in disbelief as he reached her. He looked down at her, a bead of sweat trickling down his face.

"I... Naruto-kun... I'm sorry..." she said through her tears.

"Yuki-chan..." She stopped crying and looked up. Naruto went down to his knees and pulled her into a hug. "It's you, isn't it, Yuki-chan?"

"Naruto-kun... you remember me?"

"Oi... _I_'m supposed to be the idiot here, remember?!" he said light-heartedly. "Hey... Yuki-chan... why don't you wake up?"

"I'm sorry, Naruto-kun... I... I'm scared..."

"What are you scared of, Yuki-chan?" Naruto loosened his hold a little to look at her, but she looked away from him. "Yuki-chan." But she still wouldn't look at him. "Yuki-chan, we're friends aren't we, can't you tell me what's bothering you?"

"Friends... Naruto-kun?" she whispered shyly.

"Of course!" Naruto said cheerfully. "Haven't we always been?" There was a shadow of doubt that passed over the little girl's eyes. "I know were were too young to remember what happened then... but didn't you save my life back then? Weren't we friends ever since?"

"Naruto-kun..."

"Won't you wake up, Yuki-chan? Your fiancé is waiting for you. If you're still pissed with him, it's alright, you can talk to me. We're all friends after all. Let me help you out once in a while."

What happened after that was amazing. Everything around him suddenly turned white, and something from within his body started threatening to escape. It was some indescribable sensation... the closest word it could be described with was heat. And it was piercing through him.

And then suddenly he woke up. He was back at the hospital room, leaning down on Yuki's bed, holding on to fistfuls of the sheets. There was something warm on his head. Her hand.

"N-Naruto...kun?" Yuki whispered weakly. Naruto jumped from his seat in surprise. He rubbed his eyes in disbelief.

"Is this for real?" he gasped. At once he turned around and assessed his surroundings, coming into a conclusion soon after that the little girl he'd just met was just a dream.

"Thanks... for helping... me..." she said hoarsely. The edges of the eyes turned up as if she was trying to smile. All at once Naruto started tearing up.

"Yuki-chan... you're awake...."

"Naruto?" Tsunade gasped as she beheld the sight before her. At first she had rushed, thinking the worst had happened, hearing a chair violently clatter on the floor of the room she was in. However that was not the case. She was looking at her patient trying to hoist herself up and a visitor - obviously Naruto with that ridiculous stance and ruffled blonde hair. But that wasn't what made her gasp - although later on, she did think that Yuki trying to move was one matter to be surprised with, but that was not the case presently. There was a mist of orange, almost red, light that surrounded the two, and Yuki was slowly absorbing it.

Naruto started trembling when he saw Tsunade at the doorway and, without thinking, ran right out of the room. Tsunade noticed a silent stream of tears on his face as he passed her.

Yuki felt a slight pang of hurt as he ran... but then heard the all too familiar and comforting sound of sand trickling nearby, and promptly fell asleep.

**"You're** not taking quite so fast to heal this time," Kakashi commented as he entered the room two days later, unaccompanied - something he himself believed could not be done in so short a while considering what Yuki had gone through. Yuki turned her head from the window to look at him and then smiled weakly.

"I guess... my body is punishing me now... since I always used to push myself to heal quicker," she said. Kakashi shook his head in disapproval.

"I should have known... even after all my warnings..." he said with a sigh as he sat near her. "Anyway, you're to stay in bed and let your body recover in it's own time... understood?" he pressed firmly. Kakashi suddenly looked at the doorway, as if expecting someone, Yuki waited silently.

"Don't stop on my account, Hatake-san," said the cold, familiar voice of Gaara. "He is correct, in any case," he said. "Although, I have to disagree to some point. You recover quite well this time."

Yuki looked at him in the eye and then slid her eyes away. "I can't pretend to not know what you mean." Kakashi saw that she looked a little troubled by that. One look at Gaara, and seeing the look that the young Kazekage was directing at him, Kakashi instantly knew that he was referring to _that_ incident - it was giving the room an unpleasant atmosphere just at the slight hint of it. Kakashi took her hand and squeezed it gently.

"You've let Hatake-san and Naruto..." Gaara left his sentence trailing as she nodded in understanding. Gaara moved a step closer and paused, crossing his arms in front of him. "Uchiha Sa-"

"Aa! Gaara, what happened to your gourd?" she interrupted. Gaara frowned and backed off at that.

"With Tsunade-dono. I should retrieve it now. It's almost time...-"

"Oh, are you going?" Gaara nodded silently and then turned away. He paused for another moment and then walked back to her. Kakashi watched curiously as the young Kazekage reluctantly put a hand on her head. But Gaara was looking at him.

"A moment, Hatake-san?" Kakashi looked from him to Yuki and back to Gaara before nodding slightly. He gave Yuki another gentle squeeze with his hand and then calmly walked out. Once he was sure that the elder Hatake was out of hearing distance, Gaara spoke. "The Fuyu Seishin's seal is still quite intact." Yuki nodded in acknowledgement. "You will call on me if there comes any trouble with it. And Naruto too. I understand from Tsunade-dono that it is your duty to protect him. However... we three are like family now, understand?" You don't have to bear everything yourself. It seemed as though Gaara's thoughts were forcing its way through to her mind through his piercing stare. Yuki nodded slightly in understanding.

Gaara was turning away when she said, "Safe journey home, Gaara. I regret that I won't be assisting you in your journey this time."

"There's plenty of other bodyguards that Tsunade-dono can provide for me. Though... you know very well that I don't need it," he said with a smirk of confidence. But then his expression turned serious. "I have fulfilled my promise of keeping you safe till you are able to recover here." Yuki smiled a little in obvious gratitude. "And since I have no more dealings in this village, it is time for me to return. However, I will come if you or Naruto ask it. Remember."

"I will," Yuki replied. At that Gaara walked off. However he stopped again, this time near the doorway. He turned around to face her and then bowed.

"Thank you for accepting me as your teacher these past months." Yuki nearly blushed at the honor. The Kazekage was displaying his respect for her. Yuki felt as though she had to do the same so she leaned over her bed and pushed herself into standing. Gaara watched in silent surprise as she stood, albeit shakily, and then bowed right back at him.

"Thank you for teaching me," she said, and then smiled serenely as she stood straight. Gaara gave her one final nod and then disappeared into thin air. At that moment Kakashi stepped inside, and at one look at her, dashed by her side, right at the moment when she toppled over. "Kakashi-niichan-" she giggled lightly as he caught her. "That was stupid," she murmured dizzily.

Kakashi sighed in exasperation as he helped her back down to the bed. "Rest, Yuki-chan."

**At** the end of the next week she was ready to be discharged from the hospital, although still a little pale, she was deemed all-around healthy by Tsunade so it was alright for her to leave the hospital.

"Yuki-chaaaaaaan!!!" came Naruto's usual call as he and the rest of the group arrived to pick her up.

"Good morning Naruto-kun!" Yuki called back cheerfully. She was her jounin outfit that day, mask and all. Never had she looked so much like Kakashi like she did right then. There was something different about Yuki that they all noticed from the day that she had arrived and was hospitalised. Primarily it was the color of her hair - it had changed to white, no different from Kakashi's. Another difference was that her eyes had taken on much redder shades - so it looked much closer to Kurenai's eyes or the sharingan eyes. Even though it made her look more... normal when compared with the rest of them, the stark similarity she had with Kakashi now made her so much more noticeable. "Kakashi-niichan!! Sakura-chan, Sasuke-kun! Thanks for coming to see me today."

Naruto and Sakura jogged over to her - she was standing right in front of the hospital entrance, while Sasuke and Kakashi sauntered a little behind them. Even so, the former two were giving sly looks to Sasuke - so obviously sly that even Yuki could not miss the point.

"I thought that we'd go out and eat today...?" Kakashi said, smiling at the group.

"Sure!" Yuki said cheerfully. "Niichan's treat!" Kakashi balked visibly at this but reluctantly consented. Naruto and Yuki turned to each other and started laughing happily.

"Oi oi..." The other three stared at the two curiously... they looked a little too happy. It wouldn't've been weird for Naruto to laugh like that, but for Yuki... well... Naruto must've been rubbing off on her a lot.

Over her stay at the hospital, although brief, were filled with many visits, mostly from Kakashi, Naruto and Sakura. Tsunade found, at a very early instance that asides from Gaara, Yuki could only stand being around Kakashi and Naruto, even though she would be a little uncomfortable at first, she was generally alright with them around. This 'recovery' didn't extend towards Sasuke though. Pity the Uchiha who went out of his way to try and find her... and then collapsed just like she did and then only to meet with refused entry permission to her room - by Yuki herself. Even Tsunade could not change this, even though she hoped that Yuki would recover from her anxiety from being near men soon. So they relied on Kakashi and Naruto to help her get out of that fix. Neji had come to visit too - and that helped tremendously.

Sasuke, who was quite possibly the most worried of all, since he wasn't even allowed to see her, was relieved, almost ecstatic the day - if an appearance of a relieved smile could be called ecstatic - Tsunade announced that she was fit to go public once again. It seemed all the anxiety of being around men caused by her sudden collapse had eased away, although... Sasuke was still not allowed to see her. Since her consciousness, today was the first day that Sasuke had seen her. And as grateful as he was, he couldn't help but feel a little resentment for being pushed aside. By his own fiancée, whom he once tried in vain to look for nonetheless. Of course, that was partly his fault, as he himself thought, if he had only pursued her sooner....

"He-hey, Yuki-chan! What will you do now? Now that you're back?" Naruto said through his ramen - they were at Ichiraku now, at Naruto's suggestion. Sakura was muttering under her breath about how wrong it was to feed ramen to someone just out of the hospital. Yuki smiled at that and then turned her attention to Naruto.

"Continue with my job of course." Yuki noticed a pained look that flashed immediately on his face.

"Back to being an anbu?" he asked.

"Yes of course..." Yuki's voice trailed at the end as she noticed a troubled look now passing over Naruto's expression.

"How about taking it easy now?" Sakura asked with a nervous giggle. "You've been working so hard-"

"Come to think of it, how is your job doing, Sakura-chan?" There was an undeniable fog of tension that had immediately surrounded them when she had mentioned that she would be going back to being an anbu. Yuki had only to wonder briefly to understand that that was what was making them all uncomfortable and so decided to change the subject. Fortunately for her, Sakura was willing to help.

It wasn't long before Sakura and Naruto had to leave - giving missions to do as their excuse. Yuki suddenly felt a sense of dread. It was as though... something was falling into place. Sure enough, Kakashi was preparing to leave.

"Ah, Sasuke-kun, you probably will be going too...?" she asked without thinking, gripping on the underside of the table as if in fear as she realised the rudeness behind what she had just said.

"No," he said cooly, effectively knocking her off-center.

"Well, I have to get going." Yuki almost visibly winced as Kakashi said that. She glanced at him with a look that could only be a mixture of surprise and denial. "There is a meeting that I have to attend."

"I- b-but niichan!"

"Sasuke, take her home okay?" He left. And Yuki was left with a startling revelation that this was planned all along! They had planned to leave her alone with Sasuke. She hadn't exactly made it secret that she didn't want to be alone with him, but for them to actually... Yuki felt slightly betrayed at that but knew that it was useless. This had to happen sooner or later. Apparently, Uchiha Sasuke had used their mutual friends well enough to show that his patience was getting thin.

Sasuke was a little ticked that she wouldn't look at her. At least she did look his way when the others were around, now that they weren't, she simply refused to even acknowledge that he was there! But he clamped on fast to his irritation and asked her if she wanted to leave Ichiraku right then. Her answer was affirmative, her tone clear and firm - there was no sign of timidity in her appearance at all... but still she refused to look at him.

"This is so awkward," Yuki was thinking. "I... don't particularly want to talk...."

"Why?" Sasuke asked out of the blue. Yuki stopped walking and finally looked at him, startled. Sasuke took the reaction positively and stopped walking as well, not turning back but showed that he was waiting for her to catch up. "Why are you being quiet?"

"N-no reason," she answered with a little stutter as she started walking again. "It's such a nice night," she finally said after a few moments silence.

"It's cold," Sasuke replied shortly.

"Oh... I see," Yuki replied sheepishly. At one point Sasuke stopped walking and then looked at her. Yuki quickly averted her face.

"It's so close to winter, why are still wearing clothes like that?" Sasuke was assessing her very light attire.

"Well why not?" Yuki replied hotly, finally looking at him - glaring would be the more appropriate word.

"Because you can get sick?" Sasuke replied just as hotly. He rolled his eyes once to show his exasperation and then said, "Come here."

"What?" said Yuki in surprise. Sasuke was taking off his jounin jacket and then was offering it to her. When Yuki did not make a move, he swiftly put it over her before she could react.

"The jacket is heavy but it will keep you warm." Sasuke started walking again, as he was blushing slightly at his bold action and didn't particularly want her to see it. Yuki found herself blushing just as much as he was before she started keeping pace with him again.

He was being kind that night.... Really... why did she try to avoid him so much the past two weeks? Even now Sasuke was one, asides from Kakashi and Gaara who could make her feel most secure... and yet there was an element of danger that surrounded him and made her feel very ill at ease. There was something very... unusual about Sasuke that made her feel both secure and insecure. That something was somehow connected to how she really felt about him.


	17. Reconciliation

**Disclaimer:** Naruto & co. don't belong to me. They belong to Masashi Kishimoto.

**AN**: fluff alert, and something citrus-y. sorry that this might have taken longer than expected. it's been hectic, and now that i'm out of college, and unexpectedly looking for a job - it's going to be even more hectic. i'll try my best to get another chapter out, same day next week. thanks for staying on with me. this chapter is primarily SasuYuki-hint-hint.. just letting you know. oh, and i'll be slowly replacing the previous chapters - re-editing and stuff, nothing serious, just letting you know.

**Chapter: Reconciliation**

**They** reached the Hatake household soon enough. Yuki reluctantly invited him in for a drink, although for some reason, it was Sasuke who ended up making the tea and her simply staring at his back from the counter.

Yuki smiled gratefully as she folded up his jacket. She had been feeling a little dizzy from walking, and a little numb, because, sure enough as Sasuke said, it was cold out. She frowned inwardly, wondering why she couldn't detect the temperature correctly before. Very odd. A slight noise beside her startled her from her thoughts, and she looked up, finding Sasuke carrying a tray. Silently she followed him to the living room where she sat opposite him. The silence was oddly comfortable... for the first few moments.

"Are you still uncomfortable with it?" Sasuke asked when he couldn't handle the silence anymore. A first.

"Huh?" Yuki had been deep in her thoughts, she was very concerned about the little dysfunctions of her body. It was new. It was unsettling, and Sasuke's voice had jolted all thought of it out. In her surprise she looked up, only to find him gazing deeply at her. She was unconscious to the blush that came up.

"You've been gone for very long. We haven't really seen each other since that day... when you reinstated as anbu. I assumed that at least now, it would have been already enough time to have thought it through." Sharp. He was trying his best to be to the point. But....

"I... I don't know what you're talking about," Yuki said, though perfectly knowing it but was unwilling to talk about it.

"You know, Yuki-chan. You _know_ what I'm talking about," Sasuke pressed. Yuki stubbornly stayed silent and began to sip on her tea. "Yuki-"

"I don't want to talk about it," she snapped, glaring at him coldly. Bad feelings were enveloping her. What odd comfort his presence had given her now turned into plain annoyance. Not to mention that dangerous glimmer in his eyes was making her subconsciously shrink away.

"Isn't it enough?" Sasuke began, just as coldly. He knew that she was going to be difficult, and was prepared for it. "You've refused to talk to me all this while. You've refused to let me visit you and all the rest of my attempts to talk to you. You've made that preference quite public enough... do you know how much embarrassment it is causing _me_?" Yuki did not reply but kept on glaring at him. "Do you know that you are threatening your own position, refusing to acknowledge that we are already betrothed?"

"I don't see how," she replied, giving him one of her most blatantly disdainful looks. Sasuke would have sworn that his blood was starting to boil then. Who would have ever _dared_ to show disdain to him? He took in a deep breath before attempting to speak again.

"Yuki," he began, a little calmer this time. "This is our chance to talk this through."

"What makes you think it needs 'talking through'? The pact was never agreed upon by me in the first place. I don't know why I'm refusing even now because I believe that there is nothing to refuse!" Sasuke leaned over and looked at her squarely.

"Do you really believe that?" His gaze was sharp. Gods, those Uchiha eyes were frightening. Every single one of her nerves were screaming now. The Uchiha were known to shoot terror into a person with just a simple look, but damn it, she was an Uchiha too! Mustering up all her courage she glared right back.

"Yes I do!" she said, although her glare faltered for a second. She jerked away from the table when he shifted a little closer. It was clear that she was uncomfortable with his close proximity.

"Then why are you crying?" he asked gently. Yuki gasped when she realised it. Two warm streaks going down from her tear ducts. Oh god... the tears were stinging. She cursed her body for betraying her and hastily put down her cup and then curled herself up on the couch. With sleek movements, Sasuke closed the distance in the blink of an eye and sat beside her. Before she could react he was already had his arms around her.

Sasuke half-expected her to suddenly push him away or start trembling - he knew perfectly well what she had gone through, and the unexpected move from him would've caused her either attack him or run away. However, surprisingly, she had automatically buried her head under his neck. He could feel her warm tears through his now tear-stained shirt. But that wasn't the only thing that was surprising, she was _cold_.

"Why-.... I know that them forcing up the pact was sudden, but why are you so against it?" Yuki went still and did not respond. "It takes two to make this pact real-"

"It's getting late," Yuki interrupted, pushing him a little away.

"It's _my_ life too!" he pressed.

"So why did you agree to it?!" she snapped suddenly. Sasuke stilled, realising that her eyes were slightly blood-shot now, though she hadn't been crying for too long. "If you didn't want to be tied down, why did you agree to the engagement?" Yuki bit on her tongue and looked away. She felt that maybe her tone was a little too harsh. But god, he was making her act like... like some _girl!_ Like one of those girls falling out of a relationship.

Sasuke wasn't affected much by her tone and he understood her anxiety. So he put up his hand to cup her face and slowly made her turn to him, his eyes gazing steadily on her face. Yuki trembled slightly as she saw the mysterious look in his eyes. "Do you really have to ask?" he said in a low, deep voice. Yuki felt herself transported away from reality. His voice was making her feel sinful all the way underneath her skin. Quickly, as she felt a blush rising, she looked away, while berating herself for acting meek.

"I don't need an engagement or even a marriage for that matter to keep me safe. I'm alright on my own," she said, attempting to sound defiant but was only successful in making herself sound more timid. All at once she realised her position. She was still being held, with a firm grip for that matter, by Sasuke and they were practically hip to hip on the couch. The position was not comfortable. She could feel bile rise up her throat at the sudden intrusion of the nauseating memories.

"Shh..." he said soothingly when he noticed her trembling start up once more. "Yuki-chan, please calm down," he said gently as he loosened his grip. "I know they tried to do something to you while you were in the Hidden Sand Village." Yuki froze.

"There you see..." she choked. "Even news of the engagement didn't work. Unlike what Kakashi-niichan said, they _did_ dare harm me even though they've heard news of the engagement. It didn't work. If your name can't keep me safe even before the marriage then I doubt that your name can keep me safe _after_ the marriage. I'm better off on my own-"

"The only _reason_," Sasuke began with a steely tone, "that you were attacked was because you left the safety of the village! You were on your ownoutside and look what almost happened!" At that Yuki started tearing up again and tried to push him away, but Sasuke stopped her. "Our _wedding_ was supposed to have been held _months_ ago - some weeks after you left the Hyuuga's. If you hadn't run away, nothing would have happened! You would have been with me." Sasuke ended with an emphasis on his last sentence. He joined their foreheads together and forced her to keep eye contact with him, though he could see that it did nothing to calm her.

"That doesn't change-"

"It changes everything," he whispered sternly. He could see the fear in her eyes and hated himself for it. But that fear had to be broken. It had to break. "I would _never_ have left you alone. I would have _always_ been with you."

Yuki couldn't understand what she was feeling right then. It was something of a mixture of fear and happiness. She was helpless to stop her tears from rushing out again.

"I lost sight of you once before," he said in a low voice. "Back in the forest... before I knew you as Hatake Yuki, when you were just that stranger, Fuyu Yuki... I lost sight of you. I regretted it. I lost sight of you again after that, when you went away. Now that you're here, I'm not going to let you out of my sight again."

Yuki found herself being pushed back slightly and then... a sudden warmth on her lips. The kiss was brief but he was so sweet. Suddenly he pulled her into a deeper embrace, but not before kissing over both her eyes and then rubbing her back a bit in an effort to calm her. Sasuke found himself blushing hotly but felt determined to make sure that his point was taken across this time, and that Yuki would understand just... exactly what he felt for her. A feeling... that he himself had only truly understood right then.

"Sasuke-kun," she whispered. Sasuke responded to it by nuzzling on her neck, which only made her forget what she was going to say. Sasuke was making her feel all too much in pleasure for her to acknowledge that it was real, and yet... it _was_ real.

"Why do you make me feel this way?" he whispered back as he place his lips on her neck, causing her to jump a little. Making a trail of kisses to her jaw, and then finally placing another kiss on her lips, not once breaking contact with her eyes until he left her lips. "Do you know how mad it makes me that you would speak to anyone but me?" Yuki shivered a little at the slight anger in his tone but didn't move away. She allowed him to push her a little deeper in to the couch. "That you would look at Kakashi but not me? Sakura but not me. _Naruto_. But not me."

"Wha-" He stopped her words by placing another kiss. The sensation was new. He'd... never thought a kiss would feel so good. Mutually pleasuring. And the way his kiss would get her cheeks to blush redder was particularly attractive.

He was hurt. Everything about Yuki she'd given to everyone. But she closed herself only to him. The one person he'd... felt such a connection to, and she'd closed herself to him. Never mind that asshole that was his brother (Itachi), Yuki could make him feel much more special in her own eyes that in anyone else's. So why wouldn't she look at him? Why did she willingly close herself to him? He gripped her a little tighter and delivered a punishing kiss. He could feel her gasp and try to fight it for a second but then submitted. Oh, she submitted and even kissed him back. It brought out a flurry of emotions, maybe a little surprise even. She was kissing him back.

Opening his eyes, he saw that beautiful way her blush was making her eyes look lustful. Maybe it was the heat they were generating from sitting so close together. Oh, her eyes were glazed over now, and she was looking at his lips. Her own were a little swollen now. So red against her pale skin. But god she was so cold. Her skin was icy to touch - like she had just come from a cold place. It didn't help that the hair that so fascinatingly framed her face was white. It could have been icicles. Sasuke noticed her blink several times quickly as his silence brought her back to reality. He touched a lock of her silver-white hair and looked at her questioningly. She looked fearfully at him for a moment, but it was gone as quickly as it appeared. She shook her head and then tried to push him away.

"Come morning and the Hyuuga elders will come here," he said - the thought escaped his mouth as soon as it entered his mind. At that Yuki jerked away. Now the moment was completely lost. Sasuke felt a jolt of irritation in the back of his mind.

"Why would they?" she asked incredulously.

"They feel that they've been too lenient with you."

"_What!_" Sasuke winced. She was getting to be as loud as Naruto. The blonde... he was definitely bad influence on her.

"Listen to me, Yuki," he said slowly, pulling her closer and then smiling a little. She stopped immediately. It was so rare to see him smile like that. So shyly and so sincerely. "I don't want them to force you to do anything," he said. At his pause, Yuki nodded to show him that he got her attention. "So before they come, I'll be asking you now...."

"... ... ... ... What?" The silence was deafening, and it was unlike Sasuke to hesitate.

"Live with me." Three words. Shyly spoken. Was that a blush creeping up his cheeks? Oh god. Shaken, Yuki brought her hands in front of her and tried to push him away, her mind reeling in surprise and shock - but those arms around her, Sasuke was stopping her from moving away. He was stopping her from moving at all. Oh god.

"W-why?" she stuttered. Her mind had gone on overdrive and was now, basically dead. Nothing was making sense.

"I believe it's either that or marry me straight away," he said simply. Oh god. Her nerves were starting to scream again.

"Let me go," she said, rapidly taking in short breaths. The flesh was jumping out of her skin. Her heart... well she didn't know whether it stopped or was running a million miles per second. "Let me go, Sasuke."

Sasuke was thinking of something entirely different. At first it was how pained it was to see that she looked so panicked at the idea. Then how much, at that point, he found that he wanted to protect her. And then the final strike.... Sasuke, she said. Sasuke. Not Sasuke-kun, or Uchiha-san, just Sasuke.

All of a sudden he was pressing her to the couch again, kissing her feverishly and greedily accepting her returns.

"Look at what you do to me," he murmured between breaths. "You've noticed right?" Yuki looked slightly perplexed and very out of breath. "You've noticed. This feels right doesn't it?" He looked at her, as if daring her to deny it and then swooped down for another kiss. "Feels natural, doesn't it, Yuki?"

"S-stop!" she gasped when Sasuke wouldn't allow her to regain her breath. Beads of sweat lined their faces. Sasuke wouldn't have stopped for the world, but he did it at her word. Panting heavily too, he rested his forehead on hers.

"I'm not going to force you into anything. Say 'stop' and I will. I won't even touch you if you say not to," he said heavily, keeping their gazes locked. In that position, Yuki couldn't find the heart or reasoning to doubt him. "Live with me." Again he said it; it was different from the way he said it before. Before it sounded more... commanding and now... it was more of a request. And with this request he was making himself bare to her. It was astonishing. Uchiha Sasuke showing his bare self to her. It was then she knew that it was sincere. His request was so sincere she knew she would scar his heart if she let him down now.

And he _was_ right. It did feel natural. More than that, it felt _right_. So right that it was painful.

"Promise?" she said, without thinking. "Not to force-"

"I promise." Sasuke felt his hopes soar, but Yuki still looked troubled.

"Those Hyuuga elders..."

"Won't stop until you show a positive inclination towards the pact." She still looked unconvinced. Their perspiration did not feel as troubling to him as it did then. It was plain agony jus waiting for her next words.

"And staying with you will..."

"Keep them off your back." Slowly he rubbed her back, enjoying the comforted look on her face as he did it. A few moments passed before her eyes suddenly snapped up at him.

"You're doing that on purpose," she said through gritted teeth. He smirked back.

"If it will help to get you to agree."

"Your offer sounds suspicious."

"So what? You can cut me, but if that's what it takes to get you closer to me-" He stopped right there and blushed. Yuki blushed too when she saw his cheeks redden. "I... So...."

"M-maybe- well... okay." A nervous chuckle escaped from his lips. At that they both showed identical baffled expressions. Upon looking at each others faces they burst out in laughter.

"I didn't know you could laugh, Sasuke," Yuki giggled. God, what was wrong with her? Sasuke was right to question. How could he make her feel like so? He smirked at her and then held her closer, planting a kiss on her nose as he cuddled her. "Or that you were such a good kisser."

"Was that a request?"

**That** night was unusual and morning a little too bright. She could see the sunlight through her eyelids. Her sleep was dreamless. It hadn't been for so long. For too long. And it wasn't just that. For some reason unclear to her it was warm. It was warm, but her skin was still cold. So cold. It was odd to feel that her skin was cold. But what she was in contact with was warm. It was skin. Cloth. Skin. Fingers gently rubbing the chill off her exposed arm. The gentle rhythm of breath tickling her neck. Wait. Fingers. Breath? ...

Slowly she opened her eyes. Within her sight was a body. With a jounin uniform. So it was... Kakashi? No... she remembered that her brother wasn't as lean as... her heart skipped a beat. The rate that the chest she was leaning on currently rising and falling, indicated that the person was awake. The fingers over her arm stopped for a second, and then resumed with slower pace. The person's head shifted away from her own. Yuki was flabbergasted. Just how the hell did she end up sleeping next to someone who wasn't her brother!

"Good morning." The voice reverberated in her mind as she tensed. She looked up slowly, only to meet the deep gaze of obsidian eyes. Sasuke?

"What!" she raised her voice as she jumped off the couch. Sasuke looked up at her, confused. A flurry of activity caught her attention, Kakashi had run out of his room.

"Yuki-chan?" There was a towel covering his face. Sasuke turned around and felt a slight irritation with him. Not only was Kakashi _there_, he'd managed to cover his face as well (he and the rest of his team were still trying to get to see him without the mask).

"Niichan! How did you- _When_ did you get home?" Sasuke felt like agreeing to her tone of voice. Yes, it was too early for an interruption to their-

"Pretty late," Kakashi said with a hint of a sheepish smile. Yuki gave him a glare and then turned her gaze to Sasuke.

Just why the heck- oh. _Oh_.

"And just what are you still doing here?" she said sternly, although she looked more flustered than stern. Sasuke smirked mischievously and stood up to whisper next to her ear.

"I was just thinking that it would be nice to wake up to you everyday," he said, thinking it was low enough for Kakashi not to hear. The flustered girl jerked away and blushed.

"Yuki-chan?" Kakashi repeated. As low as the Uchiha's voice was, he still managed to catch it. Kakashi didn't particularly know what to feel about his student hitting on his sister... especially since he'd taken part of the plan to leave them alone together just the night before.... Come to think of it, Yuki would give him an earful later.

"I'm going to shower," she said resolutely as she started to walk away.

"Me too," Sasuke murmured. Unfortunately for Yuki she caught his mischievous smirk and his meaning, and so caused her to turn bright red in a mixture of embarrassment and anger. "I should go home and do the same," Sasuke said quickly as he sauntered over towards the exit. Yuki looked like she was debating on whether to attack him or to just leave it. She chose the latter and promptly left to her room, without even saying goodbye.

"You've got a lot more spunk today," Kakashi commented, crossing his arms in front of him and letting his gaze settle on the younger man. When Sasuke didn't respond he sighed irritably. "I'm supposing that everything went well last night?"

"Wouldn't _you_ like to know?" the Uchiha answered tauntingly with a superior smirk. It pricked him. Kakashi felt now exactly why Naruto had always wanted to pick and throw something at that prick or just hit him because of that smirk. This was his sister for god's sake. If he was messing with her- but this is Sasuke. Kakashi was seriously at a loss and didn't know exactly what to feel. That smirk of his was grinding his patience. A definite first. ... That smirk!! "I'll be back later."

Kakashi breathed out loudly in relief when the front door clicked shut. Maybe letting the pact go along was a bad idea after all. Sasuke could protect her, sure but... the older man shook his head violently, letting the towel fall limply to the floor. Big brother feelings that's all. That's what he was feeling right? It was reasonable for an elder brother to feel a little threatened when some guy was about to take away his sister. Take away Yuki.

Kakashi looked down to his feet sadly. Well... it wasn't like they could go on forever. Even as siblings under the same roof they barely saw each other. ... Maybe he should have pushed for her to spend more time with him. Or for himself to spend more time with her. He slumped his shoulders and then turned around to look in the direction of her bedroom. It couldn't have gone on forever. It couldn't have. She's an adult now. An adult. Kakashi laughed nervously. It was too early in the morning to be acting like a sap. Anyway, even if she would leave, it wasn't as if she's be leaving to another country. It wouldn't be so different since they barely got to see each other anyway. Life wouldn't be so different.

And yet he could feel a pang of regret for not having done more for her. Chuckling helplessly as he wandered back to his room he thought about all the other parents/guardians who have or would go through this stage. It sure felt nice, somehow, to know that someone you've raised would now be able to go off on their own. Yeah, it was nice to know.

**Later** in the morning, Kakashi opened the doors of his home to the two Hyuugas, Neji and Hinata. Identical eyes looked up at him questioningly.

"She's inside," he said, showing them in before they could say anything. After all, they weren't the first guests he'd opened the doors for this morning. Their normally quiet home was very full, and noisy, today. The guests could practically hear Yuki raising her voice to give direction from her room. Kakashi pointed it out to the two more guests and then turned to living room where his medic packs were looking for attention.

"Naruto-kun! Be careful! Don't play with that-" There was a loud ripping sound. Neji opened the door (without knocking) and was only partly surprised to see the curtains falling apart and Naruto, standing close by with an exceptionally sharp sword in his hands. Naruto's mouth was wide open in shock. Yuki sighed in exasperation and gently took it from his hands. "The sword is really sharp and light."

"I'm so sorry!!!!" he wailed, as he got on his knees and begged. "I'll get it replaced! I'll-"

"It's okay Naruto-kun," she said, laughing it off. "I won't be using this room again anyway." Neji rolled his eyes. It was typical of a Naruto-situation. He looked around the room, and found Sakura and - surprisingly - Sasuke. He cleared his throat as he let himself and Hinata in to announce their presence. Yuki took one look at them and smiled cheerfully in greeting.

"You are moving your things," he stated simply - a question as to why and where under the tone of his voice. Sasuke picked up a box and looked directly at him.

"She'll be staying with me."

"Yup!" Naruto jumped happily. "We were just packing her stuff. Come help, Neji? Hinata-chan?"

The two Hyuugas looked from Sasuke's easy lift on the corner of his lip - it was neither a smirk or a smile, to the box he was carrying and then looked at each other. It seemed that their objective had been achieved without their intervention; it was the elder's idea to send them there to... persuade Yuki to live with Sasuke, one way or another. Did Sasuke have something to do with it? Obviously so, he was standing within three feet of Yuki and she was neither asleep, angry or ignoring him, so they must have reconciled?

"Where do we start, Naruto-kun?" Hinata asked, returning his eager expression with an easy, relieved smile of her own.


	18. It's Like That

**Disclaimer:** Naruto & co. don't belong to me. They belong to Masashi Kishimoto.

**AN**: omg... i had this chapter half-way written and then the disket just... went all bad on me -sob- so i had to re-write all that i had down... and took longer than i expected... oh well, thanks to all that reviewed -and to Neogem, my exam was tough... well, either that or i didn't try hard enough... anyway i've had nightmares about my results, and am still having 'em... did you do PMB btw? if so, how was it? if not then which Form are you? -insert grin here- ... -waves at everyone- i'm glad that you've taken time to read this fic.

**Chapter: It's Like That**

**The** day was long. And it was cold. It was now evening, and it was even colder. Yuki smiled out of her new bedroom window in satisfaction. Maybe the little blunder she had with the night before was just a fluke. She was able to sense changes in temperature correctly today. What she found was a little disturbing but... at least she found out, right? Her body was cold. Colder than normal. She didn't know exactly how cold. It was just that she couldn't feel the cold of the stones of the pavements, but found that, at times, contact with other persons felt hot. Not warm, but hot. And sometimes, just a little too hot for her comfort.

"Taking a break?" Sasuke's voice interrupted the silence. She smiled at him as she turned to the door. Stretching her arms up, she yawned.

"Yeah," she said, rubbing the yawn-induced tears out of her eyes. "Didn't know I had so much stuff lying around." He followed her out to the main living room where she plopped over on the couch and lied down. "Do you mind? I'm going to take a nap." Sasuke shook his head and followed her with his eyes as she moved to make herself comfortable.

There was so much peace in her expression that it softened his own. It felt so... relieving to finally have convinced her to... what exactly had he convinced her to? Live with him? That was a start. Would she love him? ... Love. Catching his thoughts, he shook his head. All he knew was that he wanted her. What of her that he wanted? Everything. Her smiles, her touch, her gaze, those lips and blood-red eyes that reflected him in such a way it seemed as though all she had in her world was just him.

"Sasuke?" her voice snapped him out of his daze. He blinked in surprise. He'd somehow moved himself from the doorway to kneel in front of the couch, what more he had his hand cupping her face and those same red eyes he was just thinking about was staring back at him.

"Sorry," he said gruffly as he mechanically pulled away. "Actually, there's something you need to see."

"Hm? Now?" she questioned sleepily.

"No. It's not urgent. We'll go after dinner."

"Right," she said, yawning once more. "Wake me up later then."

"Hey Yuki."

"Yeah?"

"Thanks."

Sasuke was just full of surprises, Yuki thought. She'd never seen him smile so much in such a short time span. Or thank someone while looking at them straight in the eye either. With that thought she fell into dreamless sleep.

The dark-haired youth watched her carefully, the hair on his skin bristling as he thought of what he had to tell her. His eyes had darkened dangerously as he left the room. Walking over to a remote end of his home, he placed his hand on a panel and pushed it slightly, revealing a hidden passageway. Taking a torch and lighting it, he walked down the series of steps that led him to the hidden basement while the sliding door closed on its own.

His mind was riddled with dark thoughts. What had happened while he was away from Konoha... during the jounin exams, was bad. Beyond bad. Clenching his free hand to a fist he punched the dirt wall in a sudden burst of anger, leaving a deep imprint in the dirt.

"Damn bastard."

**"Oh**," Yuki said. It was late into the night. Very late, in fact neither knew exactly how well past midnight it was - but could have cared less. Being in the profession that they were in had always required unstable work times. Working in the dead of the night was usually one of the requirements - and at the moment both were wide awake. "I haven't yet congratulated you for your appointment. Good work. It was your first try wasn't it?" Even as she said that lightly, she was thinking very deeply. They were walking towards the Hokage's private clinic. The room where Itachi was supposed to be held. First off, it was in the dead of the night and it was understandably quiet. But, a little too quiet. And there were barely any patrol guards around. Too few of any. Curiously few.

"Yes it was," Sasuke answered shortly, briefly wondering why she was bringing that up now.

"How many of you were appointed?" she continued. They were talking about the jounin exams.

"Naruto." But then she knew that already. "Neji." She knew that too. "Tenten and Kiba."

"Ah," she said in understanding. "There were so many appointments this year. I have to admit that I'm a little surprised." Sasuke gave her a curt nod before turning back to face the front. They were two steps away from Itachi's confinement room when Sasuke stopped. Hand posed over the handle of the door. But he wasn't about to move any further. "What are you doing Sasuke?" she spoke up after a few moments of silence. A frown made its way to her expression. "Are you even authorised to be here?" But it seemed that the youth wasn't listening to her. A dark cloud seemed to have made its place over him. His every movement indicated such intense suppression. His hand was steady but she could see some of the muscles of his body twitching in an erratic manner. And all that could only mean on thing.

He was angry. Beyond angry. Uchiha Sasuke was infuriated. Yuki understood that it definitely had something to do with his brother. But the entire situation was just plain strange. First off, it was too quiet. There were a minimal amount of guards. And Uchiha Sasuke was... allowed to be here? That was beyond suspicious. Before Itachi's attempt to escape, only Tsunade and some selected anbu and jounin knew that Uchiha Itachi was being held in the Hokage's office building. The rest of the ninjas knew that he was confined somewhere. Anywhere. As long as he was kept away from the general population, they didn't care where he was held. The secrecy was also an important security measure conducted so no one could try to bust him out. Or to kill him. That was one of the reasons why Uchiha Sasuke was one of those people whom they'd especially couldn't tell, no matter that it was he that allowed them to capture Itachi. No matter that they were siblings. Because Sasuke wanted to kill him. But Konoha had other plans for Itachi. So they kept him away. They kept Itachi secret.

So what was Sasuke doing now in front of the door to Itachi's jail? Yuki didn't know what exactly Konoha had in plan for Itachi, but she knew that they needed him alive. So why was Sasuke allowed to simply stroll up there? It was surprising enough that she managed to get Sasuke into 'capture' mode instead of 'murder' mode when they'd encountered him those many months before.

"Sasuke, are you authorised to be here?" she asked again. Repeating each of her words with more clarity and force to pull his attention away from the door to her. He clenched his fists as if in answer and then roughly shoving open the door, letting it slam the wall on the other side. Quickly she stepped in front of him before he could get in the room. "What are you doing, Sasuke?" she asked. But even as she was prepared to stop him from doing something disastrous, she knew there was something wrong with the room itself. Drafty. It wasn't supposed to be drafty.

"He escaped." He barely said it before Yuki turned around to figure that out herself. The scene was, in short, shocking. It was almost as if her heart died on her and all that was left was that empty shell that was her body that had suddenly turned to stone. Over where the bed was supposed to be was a pile of rubble. The walls and ceilings were cracked to the point that it could collapse at any moment. All the medical equipment there was destroyed and bits and pieces of them were left all over the place as though there was some great explosion in that very room. There was just a small trace of dried blood splattered here and there that showed that there was some sort of struggle. Most of the blood was near that huge hole on the wall opposite the door. The wall that led to the outside. There was debris everywhere inside the room. And the judging from the layer of dust that had already settled, Yuki could figure out exactly what happened. When it happened.

Somebody busted him out. God, who was crazy enough to do that? Itachi's location was secret. No matter how many times anyone ever tried to find him, it would've taken them years to figure out exactly where and how to get him out. When was also a crucial but different matter.

"This happened while I was hospitalised, am I correct?" she asked, swallowing painfully as she made her way to the other side of the room to assess more of the surroundings.

"Yes."

"How?" she asked, her voice wobbling a bit - with an emotion unidentifiable to Sasuke.

"We were away for the jounin trials. Most of the upper ranks were out of the country. So our defenses were low at that time."

"That's impossible," Yuki snapped back harshly. She bit her lip and winced. She couldn't take it out on Sasuke. "Our defenses remain constant at all times. No matter how many of our forces are out of the country."

"No," Sasuke retorted. "It was particularly low at that time. The available jounin, chuunin and anbu were scattered."

"But-"

"He's right, Yuki-chan." A new voice penetrated the tense atmosphere in the room. It was Tsunade who had just entered. She looked straight at Yuki with a slightly pained look. "A mistake in our administration. We were lacking proficiency in internal networking at that time. It was a little difficult to gather enough troops."

"You must be joking." Yuki stared at the two in astonishment. "And Itachi _escaped!_ Just like that."

"There were two who helped him out. I, myself was on the other side of the village at that time," Tsunade said through clench teeth. Her fists were clenched tightly. Just like Sasuke's. "At this point there's nothing we can do but gather intelligence of where he might be."

"You mean, we lost him in pursuit and now we're back to square one?" Yuki interpreted correctly - still looking astonished. Tsunade nodded reluctantly. Sasuke barely reacted. He still had that dark look about him - well, at least she understood why that was now. "And... I suppose the majority of the villagers don't know."

"They probably do, but don't know it for sure," Tsunade said heavily. "You've noticed right?" she said, waving her hand once and then giving her a tired smile. "Things have been tense around here."

"Y-yeah." There was a moment of uncomfortable silence before something snapped in her. "Why wasn't I told earlier!" she said, stepping back and looking at them with indignant bewilderment.

"Your medical condition was unstable," Tsunade said firmly. "I judged it was the right thing to do until you left the hospital. And then I asked Sasuke to tell you himself when he can personally judge that you are fit enough." Yuki swallowed painfully again. There was something about that which made her uncomfortable. No doubt it was probably the fact that there was someone responsible for her now. Sasuke. So it's like that, huh? As happy as she felt for that yesterday, today was a different matter. How could such news be with-held from her because of the judgment of one person who barely knew her?

"Fine," she said curtly - then turning away to look out the hole in the wall. There was a dull pain that kept rising in her chest. She knew what it was, but refused to acknowledge it. It was fear. Hysteria. What you wish. She was afraid. One of the most deadly men ever known... out loose. With two of his companions.

It was Akatsuki. She was sure of it. They must have gotten wind of the time when Itachi tried to escape and then decided to bust him out. Yes. Only Akatsuki could've done this. It was the only organisation powerful enough for it to be possible. But... they'd been quiet for years. So many years. And now....

"This is bad," she said lightly, although she was betrayed by a little wobble in her voice. "And I suppose the scouts you've sent have been largely unsuccessful thus far?" Tsunade nodded solemnly. "So it's _ them_, right?" Akatsuki. Tsunade nodded once more, confirming it as she understood her meaning. "As elusive as always," she remarked. "They're such a pain." After one last look at the rubble she turned to look straight at both Tsunade and Sasuke. "I've seen all I need to see. Let's go, Sasuke."

"Ah, Yuki!" Tsunade called before she could leave the room. "Maybe I should give you a check up." Yuki froze for a second, getting her meaning immediately. She glanced sideways to Sasuke - whom she almost forgot was there - in a slight panic.

"M-maybe not now, Tsunade-sama?" she asked quietly. Turning away. Sasuke didn't know. It'd be better if things were just left at that. ... Sasuke didn't know that she had the Seishin sealed in her. Who knew what he would do... especially after his ardent confession just the night before. Tsunade took one long look at Yuki, glanced at Sasuke's impassive expression and then back to Yuki before it clicked. She gave the younger woman a disappointed look.

"I see..." she said solemnly. "Don't delay it for too long, Yuki-chan." Don't delay telling him? Or don't delay the check up? Which ever it was, Yuki nodded it off and then immediately left the room.

Sasuke was watching the entire display and could help but allow his curiosity to stop him before leaving the room. He allowed himself to turn around to look at the Hokage to question their odd behaviour, but found that Tsunade was currently in her own world. She was looking out the same spot Yuki had been near the hole with a lost expression. She shifted on her legs a bit before returning Sasuke's look.

"It's almost time for Shikamaru's team to be relieved," she said.

"Yes," Sasuke said, nodding once to show that he understood what she was saying. Shikamaru's team was currently the team scouting out for intelligence regarding Itachi. Within the next few days they were due to return and Sasuke and two others would be the next team to set off. Tsunade knew that it was a little risky to send out Sasuke considering the youth would rather kill Itachi than simply gather intelligence on him, but he was the only available powerhouse yet unused. And he did state clearly - after much force - that he would do exactly as the team leader would say, whom which in this case was an older, more experienced jounin.

"Don't do anything stupid, understand?" she said sternly. Sasuke raised his head arrogantly and gave her a tiny smirk. After sharing a look of mutual understanding, Sasuke turned around and left the room - forgetting completely to inquire of their previously odd behaviour.

**It** was early the next day... both Yuki and Sasuke barely had gone in to sleep because, after Yuki's headstrong insistence, Sasuke 'allowed' her to go patrol around the village for a short while. But because she didn't go back home soon enough, Sasuke, being impatient, went out to look for her and almost had to drag her back. They arrived home around false dawn. And it was now close to 8 in the morning.

Although being no stranger to shifting sleeping schedules, Yuki was barely awake as she opened the front door to whoever was persistently knocking on the door. Briefly, she wondered where Sasuke was... and why he didn't go to open the door to his own home.

"_Yuki-chan!_" An orange blur glomped her. The blur smelled faintly like ramen. She smiled sleepily as the blur let go.

"Good morning, Naruto-kun." After some moments of almost delirious cheerfulness, Naruto let go and gave her a scrutinising look.

"Did that Uchiha touch you last night?" he asked. Yuki couldn't stop herself from jerking back in surprise. Just _what_ was that blonde asking?

"Err... no, Naruto-kun. Wherever did you get that idea?" Naruto then went and laughed loudly.

"It's 'cos I made him give me his promise to take it slow."

"Oi! You idiot!" The voice came from a little ways behind Yuki. She turned around to find Sasuke by a doorway, glaring at Naruto. He was glaring at him because he couldn't quite believe what he'd just heard Naruto say. Sure, every bit of it was true, but to _say_ it to the girl... that was just plain tactless!

"I'm not an idiot! You arrogant asshole!" Naruto retorted, crossing his arms in front of him. Sasuke cut him before he could say anything else.

"Don't come barging into my house with your shoes on," he heard himself growling. At that he turned around on his heel and practically stomped off to the kitchen to finally get some breakfast. Yuki looked from his exit and then back to Naruto. It was normal - just another one of their tiffs, but Sasuke was right this time.

"Naruto-kun, your shoes are caked with mud..." she said reproachfully as she gently pushed him over to the front door. "Please take them off before you come in again." Naruto staggered over to the door in surprise and then looked down at his feet.

"_Aaaaaa_!!!" Yup. There was dirt all over the place.

Naruto stayed over for breakfast and was with Yuki by the time Sasuke had to leave to check for assignments. Naruto didn't go with him because he'd already gone and gotten a job assignment - he was basically on village-patrol for the rest of the week.

"Hey, Yuki-chan, you going anywhere today?"

"I'll be meeting Tsuanade-sama today," she answered with a soft smile. Naruto gave her an awfully weird look. "For a check up, Naruto," she said nervously. "Just a check up." Naruto went and crossed his arms in front of him again and nodded to himself.

"I'm going with you!" he decided cheerfully.

"Wha- B-but your assignment!" she managed to stutter out before Naruto practically shoved her out of the front door, shoes and all. She could barely protest before he dragged her all the way to the Hokage's offices. She sighed heavily as Naruto brought her in front of Tsunade out of breath. _Her!_ Out of breath! Her body must've been more out of it than she'd initially thought.

"Your patient today, Tsunade-baba!" Yuki cringed at his loud voice next to her ear.

"Naruto-kun!" she interrupted quickly. "Why don't you just go off on your assignment? I'll be alright here, okay?" She could already feel her skin prickling as their interaction brought more and more viewers.

"Okay!" he said, giving her a thumbs-up grin and then promptly leaving. Yuki let out another sigh as she turned to the Hokage.

"Why didn't you come here with Sasuke? He's your fiancé after all," the Hokage stated, giving her a gleeful grin. "From the looks of it, you'd have to babysit that brat covertly and overtly as well."

"Tsunade-sama, Naruto-kun just wants-"

"Attention," she cut in. "Yes, I know. But I can think of another boy who would probably need your attention too." Yuki blushed at that and turned away. "You should've seen how lonely he looked coming in here all alone-"

"Tsunade-sama!" she gasped, blushing even redder. Tsunade couldn't help but chuckle at the sight.

"I'd never thought I'd ever see the day," the older woman continued gloatingly. "'Ice Queen', they used to call you - and now look at-"

"Alright! I get your point!" she interrupted, giving her an irritated scowl. Tsunade giggled at that, and then excused herself from the office and then led Yuki to another more private room.

"Of course, it's only right that you met up with the Ice King..." It was at that point when Yuki just let out a resigned sigh and then submitted herself to listening to her elder's constant teasing for the whole while she was there.

Instead of reacting to her statements, Yuki chose to close her mind to the outside and start thinking of the _problem_. Itachi....

Even the thought of the man sent her unwelcome shivers. What was he up to now? What were the Akatsuki going to do? They were surely not just going to stand by and allow Konoha to live on freely after recapturing what Konoha had caught so long ago.

If it came to worse... they would probably start attacking Konoha.


	19. Sorry

**Disclaimer:** Naruto & co. don't belong to me. They belong to Masashi Kishimoto.

**AN**: ahaha- why was I gone for so long? well there were a lot of activities that i couldn't avoid and were taking up a lot of my time. anyways, here I am, and here is 'Sorry' for you.

but before that, I don't want readers to think that I'm ungrateful. thank you very much for your comments, it really pushed me into writing this (probably 'cos I felt guilty for not updating -.-;), and I hope you'll all stay with me till the end of this fic. that's that I guess. well, now I'll be re-editing those earlier chapters -it really should be done soon... oh, and Neogem, did you get your results yet? I'm so out circulation right now -I've been living under this great big pile of rock called 'my house' (am barely getting out at all) haha- all the best to all of you.

**Chapter: Sorry**

**"Sasuke **must really like you," Naruto claimed gleefully as the duo left the said Uchiha on the steps of the Hokage tower. It was late in the afternoon and they'd just met him on their way outside and Sasuke was on his way inside to pick up another mission.

"What makes you say that?" Yuki asked in surprise. A moment ago he was all huff-and-puff. Yuki hadn't known that Naruto intended to pick her up after her check up which unfortunately for him had lasted all the way through lunch. And now Yuki had to 'pay the price' and treat him out to ramen.

"Hee-" he grinned mischievously. "Little things I guess." It took her a whole minute before she realised that Naruto wanted her to prompt him more. Smiling exasperatedly she prodded his side. "So you want to know huh?"

"Oh please, tell me!" she said mock-dramatically. Naruto let out a hoot and laughed.

"I thought so!" he said with grandeur. He grinned foxily and leaned down next to her ear. "It's the way he looks at you." A blush and a little smile crept up to her face suddenly without her knowing it. She pushed Naruto playfully aside and rolled her eyes. Naruto let out another hoot of laughter. "He doesn't look at anyone else like that."

"You might be confused, Naruto. There's no change to the way he looks at people, least of all me," she denied. The blush on her face said otherwise.

"You blush too much," he remarked, poking at her cheek. Yuki did the least expected thing that she'd ever thought to do in her life - stick her tongue out. Naruto couldn't help but laugh some more. "It's no use denying it! You're all friendly with us - but when it's Sasuke! - that's a whole different matter." At that he started jumping up and down, sticking his tongue out at her childishly.

"Next time, let me know when you're planning on a circus show."

"Oka-H-Hey! That's mean!"

**Later**....

After a very long session at Ichiraku, Yuki finally managed to tear Naruto away from the counter and make him take a walk around the village to walk off all that sudden weight before it could go back up his throat. With the blonde beside his chattering about this and that, Yuki looked up to the sky and breathed in heavily.

It was such a nice day. The sky was clear blue and all. There was a slight chill in the wind so it wasn't at all that warm but pleasantly cool. The leaves were changing colour... It was surely autumn now. The air smelled of it. She could practically taste the weather in the atmosphere. Marveling at her ability to sense temperature that day, she stopped walking and put a palm out to the wall of the nearest building. She barely noticed Naruto stop chattering as she immersed herself in the wall's fresh chill.

"Hey... you look like you've never seen a building before," Naruto said, eyes blanked out but curious. Yuki's shoulders dropped in her sudden annoyance. The blonde saw it and laughed it off nervously. Yuki's posture was reminiscent of Sakura's when that other girl would be about to hit him on the head....

"Anyway," Yuki said, willing to shrug it off albeit irritably. Naruto sighed in obvious relief and laughed out. "So how is your training going? I know I already asked this before-..."

"It's great!" the blonde exclaimed cheerfully. "Kakashi-sensei helped me and Sakura complete kaze no jutsu! I can do it really really well now!"

"That's very good, Naruto-kun," she said, giggling as he made a little victory dance. A moment of unenergetic silence fell on them right after.

"Hey, if you don't mind my asking," Naruto began softly. "What did you do after you left the Hyuugas?" A jolt of pain suddenly decided to introduce itself to within Yuki's chest. "We barely saw you after then. And... I guess I was the only one to see you back that one time...."

"I..." Yuki began unsteadily. "I'm really sorry about that." She felt really uneasy remembering the last incident with the Hyuugas. The sudden jolt of memory caused her to be reminded that the business with them was, as yet, incomplete. She couldn't really point out what was making her so uneasy. She had, after all, agreed to live with the Uchiha. In her mind, that was basically the same as having agreed to marry him, - that at this point of their relationship, their cohabitation was only a practise session for when they could finally tie the knot.

When that would be... well, that was something she didn't particularly want to think about now. It was odd enough, no, it was shocking enough that she'd allowed herself the thought of marriage, that she'd allowed her feelings to linger around that one subject so much that... it was basically ruling her actions. Like her sudden decision to return to the anbu forces after a short period as a jounin. Her decision to try to isolate herself from Konoha. Her decision to allow Gaara to seal the Fuyu Seishin in her. It was her rejection of the thought of 'marriage' that made her do all that. It was amazing to realise that now. It was puzzling. How could she have allowed her feelings to get in the way?

Was that not against the code of ninjas?

"Yuki," Naruto called her, bringing her out of her daze. "Why did you... why anbu? Why didn't you stay as jounin?"

"There were some things," she said painfully, turning her eyes away. "Some things that I could do only if I were anbu... and not jounin. I needed to get away, Naruto. I wanted... to make sure that I still had my freedom."

"I can see that you value that a lot," he commented nonchalantly. "But don't you think that Sasuke would have let you have your freedom if you really wanted it so much?"

"Would he really?" Yuki asked back with a giggle. Naruto looked at her with a little curiosity. "Think about it. The only reason I was to marry him was so I could be kept safe in Konoha. Or, to be more specific, safe at his side. As his wife. There's no freedom in that. Everything I do, I would have to ask him. Each mission I take, I would have to get his permission."

"It's not like that I think," said the blonde firmly. "Sasuke cares for you. So I really think that he'd let you do anything he want."

"Would you let the girl you love make her way to danger willingly?" Naruto went quiet at that.

"Of course I don't really like that Sakura has to go through so much danger but as long as I'm with her-..." Yuki started to laugh out loud.

"Are you still on Sakura?"

"Of course! You and her and the two most important girls in my life!" he said pompously. Yuki couldn't help but continue laughing. "Whaaaat? Shouldn't I be happy?"

"How is Sakura-chan doing, anyway? Last I remember, she was still training under Tsunade-sama."

"She's with Shizune-san now. They're working on tacticals and some skills apparently that she can't even tell me," he said, pouting towards the end.

"Well, you know there are those things..." she said, allowing her sentence to trail off aimlessly. Naruto took one good look at her and let his shoulders relax. It'd been a while since he could allow himself such bliss - but the feeling of being with the girl was... really relieving. It was like... even after all that training with being a ninja - all that about never putting your guard down - all that was just stripped away by being near her. Or maybe it was only him who felt that way. In any case, it was nice being around Yuki. How could such a girl be-

"Hey, what was your first job as anbu?" he asked curiously.

"Oh?" Yuki was caught off-track by the sudden question. "W-well... it was an infiltration job."

"That doesn't sound too bad." Yuki chuckled at that. She stopped walking and tilted her head to one side while lifting some of her hair.

"Look at this scar," she said, allowing her friend to look at her scalp. As he looked, he saw that there was indeed some remains of a gash tracing her hairline, well hidden in by her white hair. "I got too nervous and set off the alarm. I got nicked there while I was escaping."

"Your hair... the colour... Yuki-chan." Slowly she flipped her hair back and gave Naruto a thoughtful look.

"I've been waiting for someone to ask me that for ages," she said, giving him a little smile. "But... I guess a situation has never called for it as yet. Well... my hair is white... I didn't really do that on purpose." Naruto offered no hint of interruption during her short pause so she allowed herself to continue. "It was on my last mission."

"Aha!" he exclaimed suddenly. "It was Gaara wasn't it? I bet he freaked you out with that weird racoon-thing didn't he?!"

Laughing, Yuki said, "No. I never saw that while I was there. It was something else.... Naruto-kun, I'll tell you something now... I want to tell you this, I really do, but I must ask that you promise not to repeat this to anyone else." The boy nodded in acceptance. Seeing that, Yuki breathed in deeply and straightened her posture - as if the very movement to make firm her determination to tell him. "I was sent to the Hidden Sand to learn as many sealing techniques that the Kazekage has to offer. To complete the mission and finish my training I asked to have a spirit sealed in me. While I was recuperating my hair turned white."

"Wh-Wha-...?"

"The Fuyu Seishin. I had it sealed in me so I could raise the level of my chakra." Naruto stood stock-still for a few seconds.

"Fuyu Seishin?! You had a monster-"

"A spirit, Naruto-kun," she interrupted, but Naruto was unfazed.

"-sealed in you just to complete a mission?" he asked in baffled disbelief.

"It was for the good of both of us."

"The both of us? Me?"

"Yeah. It's my job to do anything I can to always protect you. You're the jewel of this village after all," she said, flashing him a sweet smile - hoping to deter him from whatever negative feelings were starting to invade his mind. But his mind was exceptionally clear at that point. And the look on his face now was telling her that couple with his disbelief now was a mixture of anger and concern.

"You sacrificed-"

"Don't think of it that way," she cut in. "I really believe that it was the best choice of action at that time. This way, I am a little more powerful. I can protect Konoha better. Tsunade-sama did mention to me earlier that she felt that something bad in the wind was picking up. Which means that, no matter what it is, we really should prepare ourselves." Naruto didn't say a word but stood quietly staring at her. "Gaara said that we are family now," she continued on a lighter note. "You, me and him. We all carry something in us. And now... we can call on each other if anything. How about that? ...I never thought that the Gaara who was so sullen when he was a kid could value-"

"You and Gaara know how to seal, unseal and all that. Even you knew a lot more of the basics that I did - so why wasn't I sent there instead! That way-"

"It was my given duty to protect you."

"So what? You're my _friend_. Don't _I_ have the right to protect you too?" They both went silent at that outburst. Naruto looked a little sorry for raising his voice but refused to say anything. Sighing heavily, Yuki brought her hand up and patted him on the shoulder as if telling him that she understood his meaning.

"I'm sorry."

"You should tell Sasuke," he muttered.

"I won't."

"But he's your fiancé!" he argued back.

"Says who?" she retorted just as fiercely. "Naruto-kun please-" While taken aback as he was that she'd practically just outright denied her connection to Sasuke, he felt that he still couldn't understand just how... or why-....

"What about Kakashi-sensei?"

"He's coming over tonight, and I plan to tell him after dinner. Do you want to come, too, Naruto-kun?" Feeling angry at her willfulness he turned away and started clenching and unclenching his fists.

"... Please tell Sasuke, Yuki-chan. I know I promised not to tell, and thank you for telling me about that, but you know that Sasuke won't stand for this. ...So please tell him."

**Later** that night...

He could see the cheerful blonde youth walking away with his back towards the house. Dinner was very fulfilling, but now that it was time to go home.... The weather was a little chilly outside and Kakashi was shivering against the cold night breeze, waiting for his little sister to come out and walk him home. Walk _him_ home. What a funny thought. Here he was, standing outside his student's house, who his little sister was now engaged to, waiting for her, who, by the way, was only recently released from the hospital, and now was insisting that she walk him back to his home in this dark - _dark_ - and cold night.

"You know... I don't think that this is a good idea," he said, sighing as she stepped out the front door.

"Huh?" she replied in surprise.

"I'll just say good night here, I don't want to drag you out like this. Besides... how would it look like if I get walked home by my kid sister," he said, chuckling as he blocked her from moving any further. Pouting, Yuki crossed her arms in front of her.

"Okay. But there's still something I've been meaning to tell you."

"Hmm? Did you lose any of your things?"

"I-... no, but-"

"Sasuke treating you alright?"

"Yes, he is, but-"

"You got a job!" Kakashi exclaimed with a mixture of his self-assumed surprise and worry. "It's too early to get a rough assignment, so-"

"No!! Please hear me out, Kakashi-niichan!" He went quiet at that and started to stare at her. Even though she got what she wanted, the sudden blast of attention she was getting was making her uncomfortable. "Remember when I was in the hospital, you were worried that I was always cold?" The elder brother nodded quietly. "I really should have told you.... But I needed to wait until I was ready. And I'm telling you now...." At that point she became speechless. No matter how she thought about it, there was no good way of telling it to her brother. Taking in a deep breath as she resolved herself, she pushed down some of her clothes to show him part of the seal. Immediately his eyes widened.

"Wh-"

"It's the Fuyu Seishin," she cut in. "I had it sealed in me. That's what's been keeping my body temperature low."

**Re-entering** the house after her brother left, Yuki suddenly felt like some weight had been pushed off her shoulders. Sasuke couldn't help but notice her sudden relief. ...But he had something else on his mind.

"Sasuke-kun?" Yuki said aloud, after glancing over at him and realising that he was looking a little tense. She saw him frown and then angrily look away. Yuki tried to approach him but he seemed to get even more so irritated. "Hey...."

"Naruto told me," he said, forcing his voice out so it sounded slightly threatening. It worked. At the words, Yuki's pulse hastened its pace. Naruto told him.... just what did he tell him? Didn't Naruto promise...?! Her panic increased as she realised that she was being slowly pushed against the wall, hands pinned her there by the shoulders. "Care to guess what?" Yuki gulped down painfully as the tense pressure increased. His face was edging closer and closer to her own. It would have been a romantic scene if it weren't for the piercing look his eyes were giving her. It seemed to peel ever layer of her mind... looking... searching for answers. "He mentioned that you don't seem to have accepted me yet as your fianc-"

"It's late, we really should clean up," she cut in quickly, trying to rouse herself away from the terrifyingly hypnotic gaze at the same time. "Don't you have training tomorrow? You should have some rest for tonight - I heard you completed some hard missions today."

"Yuki-" he tried to press some more, but to no avail, she didn't respond and successfully squirmed out of his hold. He stared at her back in frustration as she began to retreat into the kitchen to finish cleaning up. "It appears to be that-," he began slowly as he approached the doorway. He saw her glance up at him and then return her attention elsewhere. "Shikamaru's team has arrived earlier than expected."

"Oh?"

"I did mention before - it was planned that I leave with Kiba and Sakura the dawn after they arrive."

"I see, so that's why Sakura-chan said that she couldn't come today. She must be busy preparing for the mission."

"Yuki-" he said again, in a more gentle tone, hoping dearly to get her attention this time. He was a little ticked off her too, especially after finding out that she really didn't think of them as a couple... more of cohabiting colleagues apparently, but to see her not even want to breach the topic.... It was hard for him to accept that. Didn't they just...? Weren't they _happy_ together just yesterday? Why was she trying to distance herself _now_?

"Get some sleep, why don't you?" he heard her say softly. Her head was bent over the counter - and he couldn't exactly tell what she was doing at that moment. "I'll prepare a medical kit to help you out for your mission." Angry at her nonchalance, he finally let loose of the tension that had been building up inside him and punched the wall right next to him. The surroundings became deathly silent all of a sudden - save for the sound of part of the wall cracking.

"Don't be so calm," he said, the tone of his voice was so obviously filled with suppressed anger. His eyes flashed red for a fleeting moment, telling her that he was really serious about it. "Yuki, you agreed to live here with me and and with that agreement came the impression that you'd also accepted our engagement."

"I never said anything like that," she said, looking up at him a little fearfully. He caught the fear in her eyes and found himself become even angrier. Perhaps not at her, but at himself for making her feel that way. Nevertheless, he could not immediately stop himself from moving forward to pin her down against the counter.

"I am a normal man, Yuki. You should have thought more deeply before deciding to cohabit with one," he growled. Sasuke saw her eyes widen in terror and it suddenly hit him. He pulled himself immediately away and staggered backwards to give some space between them. He'd almost forgotten. He nearly forgot the terror she'd gone through in the Hidden Sand. He nearly forgot that she was still a little unsure of herself around men. Around him. Sasuke felt hate towards himself for nearly forgetting. "I'm sorry. You don't have to be afraid," he said, looking away in shame. Looking at her steadily in the eye, he waited for the terror to pass before slowly edging forward - ever so slowing giving her a kiss on the forehead. "I said that I wouldn't force you into anything, didn't I?"

Making sure that his movements were slow - slow enough to reassure her, he moved away and stepped out of the kitchen. Giving her one last look before leaving. "Take care. In case I don't see you in the morning." With that he left the room - leaving Yuki behind, slightly breathless from what had just happened.

It was, in short, surprising. She hadn't thought that Sasuke could act that way. She didn't think that all the bad memories would come up again so suddenly. She could feel her limbs still shaking from the shock. Allowing herself some relief, she let her legs sink her down to the floor as she clutched her heart - as if it could stop it from racing. ...For a brief second there, in place of Sasuke's menacing face was the face of a stranger... one of those... people that had held her down and attempted to rape her. It was an awful memory. Just thinking about it again was making her eyes water in tears. For just a single second her heart felt like it had stopped beating.

Sasuke....

Even for all that he just did, she couldn't find a way to not forgive him for scaring her. It was her fault anyway. Her own fault. But how could she do it? How could she accept someone to be a partner of hers in marriage? How could she? That wasn't what she was trained to do. That wasn't what she was brought up to accomplish.

"I'm sorry, Sasuke," she said voicelessly to the now-empty kitchen. "I couldn't- I just-" She started sobbing quietly. "I'm sorry."


	20. It Begins

**Disclaimer:** Naruto & co. don't belong to me. They belong to Masashi Kishimoto.

**AN**: woo- Faster update this time (well... better than the last time). But I'll just note here that fast updates will often be _impossible_ nowadays... lots of stuff to do- If this mystery is something you guys want solved, maybe I will indulge you with an explanation... later on- heheh (but to be honest, I'm dying to tell lol -and it's a good reason, I promise!). Below are some replies to reviews - please just skip it if you just want to get on with the story-

_xl-twisted-lx_ - I live!! (lol)

_JapanAnimeGirl_ - About that Naruto telling Sasuke about the fiancée thing, it wasn't really of a 'telling on her', it was more of a 'recap of what Yuki and I did today' thing, if you can get what I mean -shmile- Naruto didn't mean anything bad, it was just that he didn't know it was going tick off Sasuke.

_Rythmic_ - I burst into tears when I read your review, I was having a really bad day, and your comments just really made it all good for me again -hugglesRythmic- Anyway, I noticed your something characteristic about your sentence structures and thought that you might be interested in reading some of Jane Austen's works - 'Emma' most of all. She's one of the people I'm modeling my own writing on and her sentence structures come very similar to yours - lengthy but still making a lot of sense. I love how you said that reading my work is something like watching a movie. That was my exact aim and I'm glad that at least you have felt it.

_Blue Savage_- You're still with me! Well... I know I'm really irking some people about updating so slow but there are some things that I just can't ignore happening nowadays... But I'm trying my best! -innocent smile-

**Chapter: It Begins**

**Yuki **stood on the porch, shivering slightly from the whips of cold air that the night was bringing. It was evening after Sasuke had gone off for his mission and she only just decided to get up and go out of the house... and go visit Nara Shikamaru.

The said youth was now opening the door. He barely gave her any expression, and she didn't even have to say anything before he gave her a knowing nod and then allowed her into his home.

"I'm sorry if I've inconvenienced you," she said politely as she took off her shoes.

"Not at all," he replied nonchalantly. "I was rather expecting that you would come." Yuki raised her eyebrows in surprise. That came unexpectedly by her.

"How did you know?"

"Given the circumstance- I am, after all, an intelligence officer that just came back from a scouting. The anbu Captain _ supposedl_y on leave," he stressed, hinting at Yuki, "would of course be interested in knowing what intelligence that has been discovered." Yuki smiled and rolled her eyes upward as he grumbled under his breath about how troublesome everything was. Shikamaru took her to an open room overlooking the outside gardens and offered her a seat. "What do want to be briefed on, Captain?"

"As you said, Shikamaru-san, I am on leave. Do try to not address me as Captain," she said teasingly. "Besides, you aren't in the anbu squadrons are you?"

"Right," he grunted, rubbing the back of his head. The whole of his demeanor at that moment expressed that he'd rather be anywhere but sitting and talking to someone, but he knew it had to be done. With a great sigh, he focused his attention to the person sitting across him. Eyes serious. "I assume that you know about the escape incident?"

"That's why I'm here," she replied, reciprocating his seriousness.

"I'm also assuming that you've visited Uchiha Itachi's previous confinement?"

"Yes. I know he was broken out."

"Then you know it was Akatsuki?"

"I suspect so. Did you find any confirmation of that?"

"Yes," said Shikamaru grimly. He looked especially bothered at that, giving the intensity of his frown. "They've started to move."

"What is their target?"

"Impossible to tell." The statement was followed by a deafening silence. The news was grim, but Yuki was barely affected - it was what she'd thought for quite some time. "But there is some speculation that the target is Uchiha Sasuke." Yuki's heart skipped a beat at that.

"Sasuke?" she asked in disbelief, jumping from her seat. "You mean you think Sasuke is the target?"

"It is possible." Her eyes widened in even more disbelief.

"Sasuke is out there right now. Did you tell this to Tsunade-sama?"

"Yes."

"And she still let him go?! She let Akatsuki's target go off scouting for them? This is crazy. This is _crazy_! It like sending someone off to look for his own executioner!" Yuki almost lunged forward at him in her heightened emotional state but managed to catch herself before doing so. She gave Shikamaru a lost look.

"Yuki-san. This is only speculation," he said firmly. "He's not the only possible target. With regards to him, there don't seem to be any hostile advances, open or secret - that's why Tsunade-sama allowed him to leave the village."

"S-so," she said breathlessly - she hadn't realised that she'd been holding her breath, and now was trying her best to catch up to it. "Who or what are the other possible targets?"

"Only one other possible target." He looked straight at her. "They might be coming to take you."

If possible, her mind just went into further shock. _Her_?!

"Me?" she said incredulously. "Take _me_?"

"Yes. An Uchiha and Hyuuga hybrid is rare to find. If they come, there's a high chance that they'll be coming for you." Unlike in her disbelief before, she stayed silent this time. Shikamaru took this as his cue to talk. "Their objective, _if_ the target is you, then could possibly be either that they want to capture you and turn you. Or it is also possible that they would kill you and find out the secrets of your mixed bloodline."

"Bloodline...." she repeated unenergetically. There was a glazed look in her eyes that told him that she was only barely paying attention. And then all of a sudden, her face hardened. "I don't have any protection." Shikamaru looked taken aback. Protection? What was she talking about? The girl in front of him had her eyes closed and her eyebrows met at the junction above her nose, showing him a really troubled expression. But when she opened her eyes, it wasn't that of a person in fear - but that of determination. "The Hyuuga seal. That should-..." It was fact that the seal could lock all the secrets of the body of the bearer once s/he dies. If she were to have the seal... then there wouldn't be any danger of anyone extracting any secrets from her corpse.

"Yes, but there is no need to go through such extreme measures," he said when she didn't finish saying out her thoughts. Yuki shook her head violently in protest.

"There is every need to, Shikamaru-san. The protection of our village is our foremost priority. Any possible threat should be eliminated." She sounded awfully resolute about it. "I will have to go meet the Hyuuga elders soon."

"I remain by what I said. I don't believe that there is any need to," Shikamaru said suddenly. Yuki felt a little surprise at that, followed by curiosity at how sure of himself he sounded. Shikamaru, noticing the questioning look, nodded and then started explaining. "I felt that there was also a possibility that they are planning to deal with this village once and for all. That the target itself, is this village."

"What do you mean?"

"If Akatsuki managed to attack and win over our village... it's not that hard to guess really."

"So this is a fight for power?" Yuki asked, eyes widening in understanding.

"Yes. For so long, their organisation has been dormant. Now that Uchiha Itachi is back with them, they can attack us. They have enough power to overthrow the entire of Konoha." He took a deep breath.

"If they destroy Konoha, they'd be the unquestioned power on this continent!"

"I know. If their first action since re-establishing their organisation is to take our country down... needless to say, the other countries will think that they can't retaliate. ...In the worst case scenario, the entire continent could fall into their clutches."

The air was heavy with tension. It felt too difficult to even breathe. There was nothing but the sound of the breeze tickling the wind chimes outside for some moments.

"So," Yuki began, forcibly pushing voice out of her throat. "When?"

"Soon," Shikamaru answered truthfully, but Yuki was untroubled. She nodded for him to go on. "The situation beyond boundaries of this village has become increasingly suspicious. Besides the people we personally know, there's no way for us to ascertain just who it is that's been spying on us. But we know... that there's someone out there, that has been periodically checking on us."

"Haven't you been able to track them?"

"No," he said, sighing heavily. "Their tricks are too good. They cover up themselves too well. At any rate, what we do know is that the enemy is aware that within the next few weeks, there will be an open window to attack."

"How so?" she asked, holding her breath.

"Our weapons supply has gone to an all-time low. New supplies won't be coming in for some time - maybe a week, maybe less. We suspect that they've sabotaged our weapons production source in order to help create this window. Besides that, almost a third of the ninja population of this village will not be around. There has been many missions assigned to us, and our village cannot afford to look weak or short-handed right now - for political reasons; so there was no choice but to let the jobs be assigned."

"This is not good," said Yuki gravely. Shikamaru could only silently agree. "...However, I should say that I don't exactly believe that they would simply pounce on us."

"Yes. The cat has to lower its hind-legs first," the youth replied, rolling his eyes upwards.

"And while it's doing that... we need to prepare."

"They are already underway. ...I understand that you will be coming back into active position tomorrow?"

"Yes."

"And as I recall, you were put on border patrol, correct?"

"True," Yuki verified.

"Then I would suggest keeping a close watch on the North-Eastern forests. Shino from the Aburame family - the one that specialises in bugs - informed me that the recent animal activity in that area has been quite curious." At that Yuki sensed an end to their conversation and so relaxed her shoulders.

"I will," she said. "And I thank you for spending time on me." He nodded. They stood up and left their seats for the door. As Yuki was about to exit, Shikamaru spoke up.

"Congratulations on your engagement." She stopped right there, a little startled as the comment came from out of the blue.

Feeling a little sad, she smiled softly and said, "We aren't engaged, Shikamaru-san."

"But the Hyuuga-"

"Were being very insistent, that is all. Nothing more," she said, feeling a little hollow. Her chest hurt a little, remembering the events that happened only what seemed to be a little while ago.

"Oh? I was led to believe that you are now living with Uchiha Sasuke."

"That is correct," she replied. After giving him a once-over, she said her goodbyes and left, leaving the poor youth confused over the situation.

"Women... I'm never going to understand them," he muttered under his breath, sighing exasperatedly.

**For** the first time in probably a few weeks, the morning actually felt a little warm. The wind felt slightly cool against the skin. Now at the beginning of the fourth day on her first return assignment to active duty, Yuki was geared up and just about as fit as she used to be - with no traces of having encountered any problems as what had happened before.She was now on the way to her first post with her brother. Kakashi didn't really have to be there, but since knowing about the Fuyu Seishin he'd been a little extra careful with anything concerning her.

"It was your decision, and I respect that. But you should have looked more into it!" he said as they jumped through the trees. But to no avail, whatever he'd been saying for the past half-hour had not given any effect on her. Grudgingly, he finally decided to give up.

At the same time he finally noticed how quiet it was in the forest. All at once, they stopped.

"I noticed it too," Yuki said, confirming his thoughts. "The noise has been reducing little by little each day. It's as if... the animals are slowly fleeing."

"Yes," the older Hatake agreed. "Even the temperature here is... colder than what it should be."

"Cold?" Yuki said in puzzlement. No, it was _ warm_. It felt warm even right now...

"You might not be able to sense it," Kakashi said, looking a little stern. "Tsunade-sama mentioned that your temperature senses wouldn't be accurate because of the Seishin, didn't she? Yuki-chan, you best ignore whatever temperatures that you're feeling and start using your other senses. It might be very misleading." Yuki nodded in agreement.

All of a sudden, there was a violent series of movements - indicated by the crunching of dried leaves and twigs that were littering the forest floor. It came from the right.

"Heads up," Kakashi said harshly. The warning came almost too late as a dagger flew past her, slicing part of the cloth of her leg. Two dark figures jumped up from in front of them

Instead of attacking the siblings, the strangers charged past them into the direction of the village. Not being the types to waste time, the two Konoha ninjas quickly caught up to them and headed them off, forcing the two to stop in their tracks.

"Identify yourselves or we will attack," said Kakashi and Yuki simultaneously. As for their answers - the strangers made an abrupt turn, making it look as if they were about to escape to the other direction but suddenly twisted back, one leg swinging forward to deliver a swift upper kick. Any impact was avoided by a hair's breadth. Too close.

Yuki saw Kakashi dodge and then move to the branch above them. She herself evaded the attack by throwing herself to the side, and then using her hands to help her body execute a cartwheel. All of a sudden her left arm went numb.

"Shit," she cursed silently.

_Gaara's face was serious. Then again, when ever was it not? The youth practically had no expression. Then again, that was advantageous for their profession. "Things like this will happen once in a while." Her legs were numb. It just... immediately started being numb. One minute she was walking and the next second on the floor!_

_"What do you mean 'once in a while'?" Yuki asked, unable to hide the alarm in her voice._

_"I told you there could be some consequences...." he replied, letting his voice trail off as he leisurely walked to her side._

_"My legs are numb."_

_"I'll show you a quick way to erase the feeling."_

"Yuki-chan!" Kakashi called out in a mixture of worry and anger. He'd noticed the awkwardness in her moves as she righted herself up and prepared to defend herself. What she did was pull her unfelt arm up over her stomach and used what she could of her fingers to keep it still there. It looked unnatural.

"I'm okay!" she called back, looking unfazed. However, as they were communicating, the attackers both dived towards Yuki as they, too, noticed a flaw in her movements. One of them jumped and aimed a kick right to her head. She dodged it easily by lowering her entire body, but only felt that it was too easy the second an impact was made to her right shoulder - sending her flying off to the sides, scraping the dirt and grass with her hands and feet in order to slow down. It seemed that she didn't notice the other stranger attacking her as he'd moved right into her blind spot.

Once her body stopped moving, she quickly righted herself up once more and then ran towards the two strangers.

"Please go back to the village!" she exclaimed to her brother as she side-stepped them and ran up the tree to her brother's side. In a lower voice she said, "I saw it. Their rings... they're underlings from Akatsuki. The village has to be warned...."

"I understand. You be careful," he muttered right back.

"Don't worry I can handle these two," she said with a silent burst of confidence. "But I worry that there might be more heading towards the village right now."

"I think so too. Deal with them quickly," he said before taking off. Yuki then returned her attention to the enemies.

"Cease your attacks or I _will_ take action."

**It** wasn't long after when she ended up chasing one of the enemies back to the village - the other one had already been soundly dealt with. This other one was being especially tricky to handle. -And she was nearing her limit after having been chasing after him around in circles. When the stranger realised that he couldn't shake her off, he started heading towards the village - as they were doing at that moment.

"Captain!" came a shout from ahead of them. Two anbu jumped out in front of them, trying to stop the man from moving further - but it didn't work.

"Head to the gate!" she shouted right back. Their speed was picking up, and she could hardly get into a secure position in order to attack the man, and it seemed that the other two anbu were having a similar problem. The gates were fast approaching... they had to stop that man from reaching it at all costs.

But it seemed that there was a large commotion at the gate walls too. From where she was, she could spy Naruto and Kakashi battling out another group of enemies. One, two, three... there were 6 more plus the one man they were still chasing. Three bodies were already lying lifeless in that clearing. Briefly Yuki wondered how long they'd been at it - and why there were only Naruto and Kakashi there.

"Are we to apprehend that man, Captain?" asked one of the masked anbu. At that moment Kakashi looked up - his visible eye telling her that he knew they were approaching. Yuki saw him take out a dagger, running around one of the enemies and then swiftly plunging the dagger into the middle of his back. -There was no room for struggle, the man's body fell limply to the ground.

"Eliminate all of them," she said to the anbu. "Don't let them reach the village."

Naruto was basically jumping all of the place, keeping away any of the enemies closest to the gate, and Kakashi was backing him up. It was clear that they were out numbered. -But not anymore. With the enemy that they'd been chasing joining the group trying to breach the village, that made the opposition total up to six. And there were Naruto, Kakashi, Yuki and the two anbu - 5 on the defenses. Now they weren't so obviously outnumbered.

"Yuki-chan!" Naruto called out when he realised that she was there.

"How bad is it?" she asked back.

"Everything is secure so far. No breaches yet," he replied swiftly. Yuki nodded and turned to the anbu to order them to take the back line while the other three would attack. The fight was evenly distributed - but it was clear that it was getting nowhere. These Akatsuki underlings were good. Well, that was expected, coming from such an organisation, but Yuki was worried.

It wasn't the thought that they couldn't win. They could - these enemies were just a little too tricky to handle, but her arm.... It was still numb. She could barely move it, much less swing it or do anything with it at all.

_"Loosen your seal," the red-haired youth said tonelessly._

_"What?" She felt puzzled. Well, maybe a lot more than puzzled. Loosen the seal? _Loosen_ it? Heck, that was the same as asking her to _un_seal it! If she unsealed the Seishin now, then what was the point of having sealed it in before!_

_"Did I not teach you how to do it?"_

_"W-well, you did. But-"_

_"Loosen the seal then."_

_"Just like that!" she couldn't help but protest._

_"Use a containment barrier, Hatake, if you're worried that it would escape." He paused for a moment. "It won't harm you. Seeing as how long you've been able to contain it. That should mean that the Fuyu Seishin has recognised you as it's owner." As an after thought he added, "Make sure that nothing that you don't want dead is in that barrier with you."_

"Damn it!" she thought as a flying star nicked her on the cheek. The numbness on her arm was starting to spread to her shoulders, and part of her neck. She had to stop it from spreading too much, soon. "Everybody retreat!" All head swiveled to her direction. "Retreat!" she repeated.

"What are you thinking-!" Naruto growled in angry confusion.

"Just do it!" she snapped. "Get over the wall! All of you!"

"What about-"

"That's an order!" She yelled in frustration. The numbness was starting to overcome her. If it reached her heart, she wouldn't know what to think.

As the four Konoha ninjas scaled the gate wall and jumped over to the other side, she constructed a spherical barrier surrounding her and the remaining enemies using the skill Gaara had taught her those many months ago.

Naruto saw the barrier starting to function just as he topped the wall. Just barely, he noticed some mist starting to form on the ground. ...Mist. Just what the heck was she trying to do?

"What is she doing-?"

"Get down, Naruto!" Kakashi called from the other side of the wall. "She can take care of herself!"

"But she just trapped herself in a goddamn barrier with all of them!" the blonde angrily shouted back. Kakashi hesitated for only a second before he joined Naruto on the top of the wall.

"She told us to retreat... why?" he thought as he hurriedly went over some of the possibilities. From where he was, he could see her hands forming an odd combination of seals. He'd only ever seen that sort of combinations when- It was the an unsealing technique! "_Stop!_"

But it was too late.

There was loud earth-shaking sound - like an explosion of some sort, but it was great. The epicenter was Yuki - her hands over the seal on her body that was starting to generate smoke... or was it mist.... There was mist coming from the grounds too. The enemies in the barrier with her were nervously looking around in foreboding. The atmosphere inside the barrier was slowly freezing. Kakashi and Naruto could figure that out by the conditions of the grass within the barrier. It was turning an odd colour... and when the opponents were moving, the blades of grass cracked and shattered. It was frozen.

However, the barrier was quickly being filled up with that white mist - so much so that the one's outside couldn't see through it - and the one's inside could barely see their hands in front of them. It was pure white. ...But that wasn't the end of it.

A shadow of a figure appeared in front of her. Silky white, animal-like, but at the same time, it was like a human figure too. Yuki had seen this figure before. In a way, it's appearance had always calmed her. But there was always an element of danger to it. A calm sort of danger. The kind of danger that bit you slowly. It would graze its fangs over your skin... making sure that you could feel that it was sharp. And then slowly it would clamp down, prolonging every bit of pain, from contact - to when it would puncture your skin.

That was the Fuyu Seishin grazing on your flesh. Its cold teeth magnifying the pain.

And eventually, all senses would be lost.

That would be the Fuyu Seishin freezing everything within its reach. Everything it bit into... would turn into ice.

"Yuki-chan!!" she could hear Naruto's anxious voice breaking her out of her daze. The mist was beginning to clear a little. And the numbness in her limbs were gone - and the time limit for the release of the seal was up. The Fuyu Seishin was slowly disappearing with the mist.

Naruto ran down when the barrier was deactivated, but stopped when he saw what the disappearing mist revealed. It was white. everything within the circle of the barrier was pure white. Ice covered everything inside it. The grass. The soil. The enemies. The enemies were all frozen stiff. And Yuki.

"Yuki-chan!" he called her as he regained sense of his legs. Yuki looked up from her position and then brought her arms around herself, trembling, as it was cold. She could actually feel the cold bite at her skin. Naruto entered the boundaries of the ice and helped her get back to where the cold air emanating from the icy white circle couldn't reach. It was significantly warmer away from the circle.

"We should report to the Hokage," she said, teeth shaking. It was odd how she was now feeling bitterly cold. But that was how it always turned out when the Seishin was resealed. Well... at least for a little while. The cold would go away. It always did.

Well... it was worth it anyway. At least her arm wasn't numb anymore.

... ...What a morning.

**AN:** This was a rush post. If I catch any mistakes I'd re-edit it asap. Thanks everyone for reading down to this point.


	21. Acceptance

**Disclaimer:** Naruto co. don't belong to me. They belong to Masashi Kishimoto.

**AN**: Here's why I've been busy lately: I'm going to Japan in April. ...Yup, seriously. I'll be studying there for my degree - so it's been pretty busy around here packing and stuff. Anyways- here is chapter 21. -by the by, assume that most Konoha-nins are now aware of the Kyuubi in Naruto for this story. (I re-edited and replaced this chapter- as I found out that some punctuation marks had 'disappeared' after I uploaded it. If there are any inconveniences, I'm sorry)

(**1**) _nindo_ means 'way of the ninja', just like how _bushido_ means, 'way of the samurai'.

**Chapter: Acceptance**

**She** was sleeping so soundly, Naruto had to check twice to make sure that she was only sleeping - and not anything else. She'd terrified him when she just collapsed on the floor in front of Tsunade's door. Kakashi was, for a change, pacing nervously by the door, waiting for the Hokage to come back. Tsunade had instructed them to wait by Yuki while she was briefed by the runners who were carrying reports of whatever damage the village had so far incurred. At least the village was safe. For now.

"Tsunade-baba," Naruto exclaimed when the long wait was over. Tsunade briefly glared at him before returning to her previous pace.

"It appears that all the ruckus has died down," she stated, catching the eyes of both Naruto and Kakashi. "However, we've only been able to obtain minimal information..." She sighed heavily. "You both did great- coming back uninjured. All the others have been injured... to some level of severity."

"We didn't," Naruto began - but for the first time in his life, he could not find the proper words to explain.

"She released her seal," said Kakashi, having known exactly what the younger boy was about to tell her. "The Fuyu Seishin took care of most of them." Tsunade bowed her head slightly - looking solemn, and perhaps even a little tired. "It must have been a new technique the Kazekage taught her - because I'd only ever seen that technique around the Hidden Sand Village."

"Yes. I'm aware of that," she replied tiredly. Both Naruto and Kakashi went alert at that - signaling to her that there was a need for a little explanation. "Gaara-dono, when he was here, reported a variety of things to me about Yuki's body. One was of course - her lack of sense of touch. Pressure, pain, that could all be felt - but hot, cold, cool -those kind of feelings she'd never be able to feel properly again. Her sense of touch changes according to the mood of the Fuyu Seishin."

"That _thing_ has _moods_?" Naruto asked, flabbergasted.

"Unlike the Kyuubi sealed in you, the Seishin that resides in Yuki does not live in a cage. It is free to wander through her body and consciousness at its own will." Kakashi swore under his breath, joining his eyebrows together in frustration. "_But,_" she emphasized. "It seems that it has taken quite a liking to her... which is why she's been able to handle it... for most of the time."

"What was she thinking?" Kakashi said harshly, facing the wall, clenching and unclenching his fists in frustration. He hadn't any objection before... but these new found conditions were titling his opinion about it towards the negative.

"About her condition right now," she continued. "It's not something new either. It happened once back in the Hidden Sand. ...Once her body starts feeling some numbness, in order to get rid of it, she has to allow the Seishin to be released, until such a time it becomes meek enough again to be resealed."

"You mean like taking that spirit out for a walk."

"Simply put, yes."

"So why is she like this now," Kakashi asked, tilting his head to the bed where Yuki was lying very very still.

"Resting. Putting it as you did - walking things like 'spirits' out take a lot of energy. You should know, Kakashi - your dogs are hard enough to handle," Tsunade said lightly, trying to smile for all three of them. "She'll be alright in a bit. ...In the mean time, I have a job for the two of you. It seems that I will need both of you to search for Sasuke. And bring him back."

**Dusk** found the same two males - Naruto and Kakashi, readying themselves to leave the village.

"Yuki should be awake by now, right? Kakashi-sensei," Naruto asked, tilting his head towards his silver-haired instructor, giving him a curious look because Kakashi did not give any notice of having heard him.

"I hope you're prepared," Kakashi said seriously, finally turning to his blonde student.

"Of course! I am Uzumaki Naruto!" he hooted proudly. After some tense moments his mood dampened, and he quickly turned somber. "I didn't think that we'd be told to go off so soon after the attack."

"There's nothing else we can do here," said Kakashi. "For now," he added as an after thought. "Well, stop thinking like that and focus on our new mission. We have to get Sasuke and his team back here safely. And quickly."

The two left the village with equally serious looks on their faces, and the same amount of anxiety and determination that usually interceded in the beginnings of any mission. Yuki, was still sleeping - quite heavily, back at Tsunade's offices.

She only woke up late the next day - or early the next morning, as you wish, with heavy eyelids and a dull state of mind. At first, she couldn't figure out where she was... and then all of a sudden all the images of what had happened started crashing in on her mercilessly. She remembered that there was an attack. She remembered releasing the Seishin. The Hokage's office... and then, it was all blank.

The girl looked around her slowly, finding the room to be rather empty and sparsely furnished. She'd seen the room before, and assumed that she was back in Konoha. As she moved to leave the bed, she heard the bed sheets rustle, and something else. It was a note. The sheet of paper had been placed on her lap and was about to slip off to the floor as she moved her legs. Quickly she caught it and scanned it through.

It was from Tsunade - explaining what had happened to her; attached were some prescriptions to speed up her healing process. All of a sudden she felt gutted. Like a sharp knife had been stabbed clean through her - it was regret. She allowed the unpleasant feelings overcome her as her eyes started swelling with tears.

"I shouldn't have had the Seishin sealed in me," she thought, sobbing quietly to herself. It upset her, to say the least. A ninja of Konoha was supposed to be ever-skillful. Ever-reliable. Ever-efficient. And there she was. Her skills slowly deteriorating. She couldn't sense temperature. Her reliability... crumbling. She couldn't judge when her body would start acting up on her. And her efficiency... god, she was supposed to be good at her job! Now look what had been happening because of her.

She'd betrayed the Hyuuga-Uchiha pact - for being willful and then so denying her obligations for being an Uchiha descendant. She had the Seishin sealed in her so she could gain more power. But what did she get in return? The spirit was slowly eating her up from the inside. Her body was not her own anymore. It was the Seishin's vessel.

Her body was no longer her own. That was exactly what she wanted to avoid in the first place. That was precisely why she didn't want to give in to the pact. And she threw her own principles away by giving her body to an entity. And for what? For power. She'd practically sold her life for power.

She sold her soul... for power. And it was eating her up. Gnawing gently. Painfully. Sweetly. Ravenously.

Trying to get a grip on herself, she pulled herself out of the bed and groggily moved to the exit. There was barely anyone around to notice her heavy-hearted state - the one good point at least for that moment. She didn't feel like explaining her tears to anyone.

She reached the Uchiha's home relatively safely. No one even glanced her way as she headed down to that part of the village. The walls of the house were both cool and cold against her skin - somehow making her feel much more bitter about her situation. -Then all of a sudden her eyes started throbbing painfully.

Yuki practically kneeled over at the intensity of the pain. It wasn't just some throbbing pain in her eyes, it reached out to her temples and a part of her forehead. Even her eyes... there was some weird throbbing near her pupils. It was making her vision all blurry. Stretched. She could make out the corridor at one point, and tried to move her legs. And then all of a sudden- it was dark again.

**"Yuki-san!**" There was some weird loud voice shouting at the doorway. It sounded somewhat like... Nara Shikamaru. "Yuki-san!" the male voice hollered again. This time, the sound seemed much clearer. Louder.

"Tsunade-sama did say that Yuki would have gone straight here right," said a second voice. "Some witnesses even said that she hasn't left the house... as yet." Neji? What was he doing there too?

Groggily she shook herself awake, rubbing her eyes in the process. Dully, she heard Shikamaru call out her name one more time as she found dried tear marks on her face.

"We should break the door down," said one of the voices outside. This alerted her, and caused her to immediately dash off to clean up her face. She was back in less than a minute witnessing their voices arguing against each other through the front door.

"They all say that she's here, and there are even fresh tracks leading right to this door," Neji said stubbornly. "We should check inside the house," he repeated, firmly this time. She heard Shikamaru sigh irritably.

"Breaking down the door seems too much though," he said. Yuki heard some shuffling and then suddenly a burst of chakra. Neji must have activated his byakugan.

"Yuki," she heard heard the youth say incredulously. Smiling sheepishly at the door, she waved her hand. Then she felt quite stupid- seeing as how any passing person would only have seen a silly girl waving at the door.

"Sorry about that," she said as she unlocked the said door. She found the two- Shikamaru with an irritable look and Neji with an alert albeit curious expression on his face. Suddenly conscious of her appearance, she realised that she was sporting the same soiled uniform the day the village was attacked... how long was that ago? ...And it was morning now. Had she only blacked out for some hours? Or had it been days?

"We'd been calling for nearly half and hour," said Shikamaru exasperatedly. "Did you plan to sleep in late?" he grumbled.

"My apologies, Shikamaru-san. I really wasn't expecting any visitors," she said sheepishly. She opened the door a little wider and stepped aside. "Would you like to come in?"

"No. Our business is urgent," informed Neji.

"Yes. We've been given a mission. You, Neji and me." Yuki gazed thoughtfully from the Nara's expression to the Hyuuga's and then back to Shikamaru. "We have to depart before noon. Of course, this is provided that you are well..." It was Shikamaru's turn to bestow her a thoughtful look.

"I uh..." she began uncomfortably. "How long ago was the attack?" she asked, when their previous conversation seemed to have paused.

"Yesterday... Are you well?" So... she was out for another few hours only. ...That was relieving.

"Yes. Just a little disoriented. Please go on," she urged. "Our mission"

"We have to cut off Akatsuki's legs," said Shikamaru. "We found out that their organisation has been recruiting missing-nins and some rogue ninja too- and we have to eliminate them before they can send them to attack us here again." That was brief. But wait-

"Are we attacking Akatsuki?" she said, bewildered- and she could feel her eyes go round. Her question was met with equally serious nods. After a moment of tense silence Shikamaru took a step back.

"We should get ready. Rendezvous at the western gates. We start hunting in three hours."

**It** seemed like there wasn't enough time to prepare, but it was enough. Hunting Akatsuki was no easy deal, even going out in a team with Shikamaru and Neji - the chances of finding any traces were still slim. It meant that they all had to travel lightly. However, Akatsuki being as dangerous as they were, it meant that they also hard to be well-armed. That was no easy feat -trying to travel light with as many good weapons as possible.

She finally decided to bring a pair of long swords- two katana of different sizes strapped to her back, with barely any other weapons; and she donned a fresh anbu uniform, mask already tied to her face. Just like how it usually was. Just like before... before her identity was revealed. She was a full-fledged anbu again. And it felt rejuvenating.

"Ready?" Shikamaru asked at the instant she stepped out of the shadows.

"Before we go, Shikamaru-san, Neji-san. There is something about me that you both need to be aware of. It's about the Fuyu Seishin."

**"Jeez**... I could almost swear that that demon is just about as bad as the Kyuubi," Shikamaru grumbled loudly. They were now standing over the ruins of their last assault - several bodies now being burned to ashes by the ever-diligent Hyuuga. The squad leader was resting under the cool shade of a tree, a little away from the path of the bloody stench that was covering the area. Yuki was standing over him.

"Spirit, Shikamaru-san," she corrected with a smile. "It's not a demon." The youth rolled his eyes upward and then shrugged it off. "Besides, you shouldn't say that sort of thing aloud." He looked up from his sitting position at her thoughtfully.

"You were much meaner back then," he said. Yuki looked down in surprise. Meaner? Her? "Before this whole deal with you demoting yourself to jounin - whatever the reason that was, and then taking back your position in the anbu squadrons. You used to be quite callous." Callous?

"I agree with him. I'd heard stories far and wide on how hard-willed the anbu captain was," Neji said, coming up in front of them. Yuki glanced at the clearing once to make sure that all the bodies were already burning or were still burning, without the fire touching the trees. Then she returned her attention back to Neji and Shikamaru, who were both staring at her. "Are you upset?" asked Neji out of the blue. At least, it was quite sudden to her, until she realised that her mask was still on so they couldn't tell what facial expression she was making. Her silence could have easily interpreted as her being upset.

"Oh, not at all," she said, taking the mask off, to reassure them. "I suppose I was rather unfeeling back then," she chuckled.

"Exactly so. Quite inhuman, I'd heard," said Shikamaru. "And it all stopped after some time... even then, your subordinates still feared you... Then again, they're just rumours." He looked at her probingly - she knew that he wanted to find what the real truth was. "Well?"

"I was taught to be ruthless, Shikamaru-san. Silent, unwavering, efficient. Duties are to be carried out quickly, and if there were any problems, it had to be smoothed over immediately. That was the way I was taught in being an assassin. My _nindo_**1**. At least... until my duties of watching over Team 7 officially started."

"What happened then?"

"Team 7..." she hung her head. "They used to be a rather clumsy bunch weren't they? Trouble everywhere they went - I went nuts trying to cover for them." Shikamaru let out a sudden hoot of laughter and then quickly corrected himself, turning his head away as he resumed his serious expression.

"Well," he said as he stood up. "I can see how that broke your composure." He paused and surveyed the area. "We should move on. It's almost dark, and we still have a ways to go."

**A** few days later...

"This brings back old memories." The young Nara choked. There was a line of blood coming out of his mouth... the inside of his upper lip was punctured and the outside cheek was looking a little bruised.

"What do you mean?" Yuki responded as she took out her medi-pack and started to treat him. Her position in that team required that she took over most of the treatment of wounds that would be needed. Shikamaru was, of course, the team leader, and Neji was their powerhouse. At the moment, Neji was, again, on clean-up duty, and Shikamaru was lying down quite still in the middle of the clearing - injured.

"I remember... one of those missions in the past..." he said slowly. His eyes weren't directed at her, but instead towards the sky, where he could calm down while watching the clouds. "I nearly lost my leg... and my team at that time..." Was completely eliminated. Oh, she remembered. Those were hard times. Sad times.

She remembered quite clearly. It was the day Tsunade-sama had ordered the anbu and jounin to combine forces and disperse, in order to seek out and rid Itachi before his capture. Both she and Shikamaru were on the same team. But when the climax of the battles came... and Sasuke was fighting it out one-on-one with his brother, the rest of them were being slaughtered by the remaining members of Akatsuki. She recalled every single person who'd died that day. Each one who had fallen...

"It's no good to dwell on such memories," she said as she shook herself from her sudden reminiscing.

"It was like... a never ending fight," he muttered. "Tch. We has so little forces. And the Akatsuki were too powerful at that time... it was pure luck that they decided to back off when Itachi was captured." He grumbled a little about how unbelievably tiresome it all was. "Just like how it is now... our village... is weakening."

"It's not," Yuki said firmly.

"Face it. We are weaker that we were ever before. We lost too many people four years ago - came out of that war with only one prisoner, and we didn't even actually defeat anything. And now... we are paying the price for keeping that man prisoner. He's escaped... now he's going to turn back, and hunt us all down."

"Really?" Yuki said exasperatedly. "This is so unlike you to be so pessimistic."

"Yeah, well, that happens when you can barely feel your arm you know, and much less sit up," he said sarcastically. Yuki heard Neji come up near them, chuckling.

"The great Nara Shikamaru, finally bemoaning his worries. I am honored to witness such an occurrence."

"Don't encourage him," Yuki reprimanded playfully. She then turned her attention back to Shikamaru and said, "Besides, this fight _will_ end. We _will_ defeat Akatsuki this time for sure; and Konoha will be in its glory once again." Shikamaru grinned.

"You make it sound really good," he said. She nodded.

"There. I've finished," she said triumphantly as she leaned away after having treated his wounds. "Rest a bit. We can move on when night falls."

"It'll be too late by then," said Shikamaru. Both Neji and Yuki looked at him quizzically. "We slipped up this time. Now they know to look out for us. ...We put them on alert." Yuki frowned at that. "Now they'll be on the watch for a three-person team. We might have put all our comrades who are outside the village now in danger."

"Did you ever figure out what the target of Akatsuki is?"

"It's the village," Neji answered for him when he didn't respond right away. "The attack the other day? It was directed to the village."

"Then I hope that they're all okay back there," she said somberly.

"We all have to pull our weight," Shikamaru grunted. "It's just that ours isn't protecting our village. Our mission - what we are doing now, is to attack them, before they can attack us. That way, once they finally decide to strike the village head on - by then we'd have cut off all their small fry. If we complete this mission... then all we have to worry about when we get back... is to hunt down the big fish. And this time, I must suggest that we make sure that Itachi - will _never_ be able to go against us again."

**It** was a chilling speech that Shikamaru made. Heightened by the fact that what he said was all true. Too true that it made all their heads spin. Neji and Yuki supported him as they started moving again in the night time, and only let him go off to walk on his own when it was dawn. The poor leader was only able to start running again in his usual pace by the late afternoon.

"There was something I'd been meaning to ask, Yuki-san," Shikamaru began as they took a rest. Yuki nodded for him to go on. "Why live with Sasuke if you don't mean to marry him?" The question was shot so suddenly that she nearly fell of the rock she was sitting on in surprise. Her first reaction was to turn to look at Neji - to see how he would react, seeing that he was part of the initial conspiracy to put her and Sasuke together. Neji simply shrugged in reaction.

"It's no secret," he said, locking his blank eyes to hers. She turned away uncomfortably. "I'm sorry to drag this out, but this has to end, Yuki." Shikamaru looked at both of them intently. "Unfortunately the elders think that they have been too lenient on you. They're about to push for a wedding date."

"How can they think of this matter with all this conflict going around them?"

"Do you care for him at all?" Neji shot back. His question was met only with silence.

"We should start moving before it gets too dark."

"It's not the time to be changing the subject," Neji cut in firmly. He willed Yuki to turn back and look at him, which she did, and then settled with trying to stare her down.

"Does Sasuke know?" Shikamaru interrupted. "About... that Seishin?"

"Kakashi-niichan and Naruto do."

"How did they get in this picture?" Neji commented suspiciously.

"You know, I don't particularly want to start chatting about my personal life," Yuki said indignantly as she stood up from her seat and started to try to move away. Neji stopped her with a disapproving glare. All she could do was turn her head away in her uneasiness of the situation.

"...So Sasuke is that important to you?"

"No he's not!"

"Then it should be no trouble to talk about," Neji responded just as swiftly. Yuki could not think of a reply quick enough. She interrupted him just as he was about to prod her some more.

"All my life, I've been taught- I have already dedicated myself towards protecting Naruto. Just as the Third wanted me to! Right from the day that I was found in the forests of Konoha, my life's mission had already begun! I don't need any _distractions_," she said irritably.

"Then what are you doing trampling around the forests here with us?" the Hyuuga said cooly. "If Naruto really needs a babysitter, shouldn't you be out there with him instead?"

"He's not a child, Neji," she said in her dear friend's defence. But it was her undoing, as she continued by saying, "Naruto can very well take care of hims-...s-self." It was a moment of realisation. Naruto could take care of himself.

He didn't need her looking out for him anymore. He didn't need her to constantly watch his back. ...She could afford distractions, because... Naruto didn't really need her anymore anyway.

"I've talked to Naruto," Neji said solemly, understanding that she'd just realised her position. "He doesn't want you to live on like that. And he's been very keen on getting Sasuke and you together. Doesn't that say something?" The poor girl looked shattered. "It's not that he doesn't need you at all anymore, Yuki," he interjected her thoughts gently. "It's just... time for you to let him go. ... How about it?"

"...Neji- I... You're right," she said, defeated - and her voice was quivering. "You're right," she repeated, with much more belief in it this time.

Neji knocking her back in track was just what she needed. He was absolutely right. Now that she realised that her duties of protecting Naruto had lessened, she could have time for herself. She had time for distractions. And maybe, she could now focus a little bit more on Sasuke. A little bit more on herself.

"Thanks, Nej-"

Suddenly there was a poof of smoke in the middle of their triangle - a Konoha-nin appeared in front of them, quite out of breath.

"Get back to the village. You are needed." The messenger then tossed a rolled up note to Shikamaru and promptly disappeared in another poof of smoke. He was only there for a second. Shikamaru took one look at the note and leapt to his feet, causing his two companions to immediately be at the ready.

"We've been called back." Barely any more instruction was needed, they immediately left in the direction of Konoha. "Tsunade-sama and Jiraiya-sama have been trying to defend the village, but they have been cut off, so our center is vulnerable. It seems that Kakashi has brought back Sasuke but something's gone wrong with Naruto."

Naruto!

"Hey," Neji said warningly as he grabbed her arm when she unconsciously attempted to speed up. She nodded back at him to show that she understood, and that she would keep their pace.

"Akatsuki has surrounded Konoha- it'll be impossible to sneak in, so we have to conserve our energy, and when we arrive, we have to bust our way in. We've been assigned to protect our centre."

"I can't believe that we'd have to break into our own village," Yuki thought in disbelief. "Will we be in time?" she asked aloud.

Shikamaru answered her question grimly, "I don't know."


	22. Of Associations And Blood

**Disclaimer:** Naruto co. don't belong to me. They belong to Masashi Kishimoto.

**AN**: the fun is just beginning - that's why I couldn't wait to finish typing out this chapter (tho'- mind you I'm taking my pc out for maintenance soon so.. I don't know how long it'll take for the next chapter o.O;) enjoy!

**Chapter: Of Associations And Blood**

**The** Tower of the Hokage...

"Kakashi-niichan!"

"Yuki-chan!" Kakashi called back as he saw his sister and two other youths, Neji and Shikamaru, trail behind her. The three were dashing towards his direction as he was standing guard atop the tower. "The Kazekage is here." Yuki raised her hand to show him that she caught what he said and then stopped dead in her tracks.

"I want to head inside the tower," she told Shikamaru, who promptly stopped next to her, as with Neji.

"Go ahead. We'll disband right here. I'll be heading off to find anyone around here who's still patrolling the area," said Shikamaru. Neji said that he would do the same and left with Shikamaru. Yuki turned back towards the tower and left for it immediately.

She found most of the rooms to be crowded with injured people, civilians that hadn't yet been evacuated, and some random ninja trying to keep things in order. There didn't seem to be anyone of authority around- so she jumped up the stairs to the rooftop where she last saw Kakashi.

"Yuki-chan!" she heard a female voice cry out. Her head swiveled around to find the source of her voice, and found her in a huddle at a corner furthest away from her. She saw Kakashi beckoning her to come closer, so she jogged her way there. As she looked more closely she found that Gaara, Sasuke and Naruto were there too. Naruto, however, was lying down on a stretcher, Gaara looming over him with a weird looking hand-seal.

But what really caught her attention was Sasuke. She couldn't tell how he was feeling. After all the last they'd seen each other... they were in quite a disagreement. ...And he'd scared her quite a bit. But she didn't turn away when they locked eyes for a brief, fleeting moment- no, she moved on quite determinedly.

"Good to see that you're all safe!" she said as she reached her brother's side. "I thought you were supposed to bring Inuzuka Kiba back too?" she asked Kakashi. He only nodded in confirmation.

"Kiba has gone off to help," Sakura answered for him. "Everything else is in a mess, Yuki-chan!" Yuki nodded to signal for her to continue. "We accidently met _them_ on our way back here. Itachi- the rest of Akatsuki too. We tried to retreat before anything big happened but we were too careless. They followed us back to the village."

"Don't worry yourself about it," Yuki said soothingly when she could see all the guilt that was building up inside the pink-haired kunoichi. "It was going to happen sooner or later."

"I- I just wish it wasn't sooner," she replied quietly. Yuki patted her on the back sympathetically.

"And how about your mission?" Kakashi asked.

"Interrupted," she said shortly. "We came back as fast as we could after we got the message."

"The rest of your team?"

"Disbanded. Shikamaru and Neji have gone off to help as well." Yuki frowned thoughtfully after saying that. "I don't like it."

"What?"

"The people are scattered... I don't like it," she repeated. She then knelt down to the floor to examine Naruto's condition.

Something happened alright. He was heating up. No- Naruto was practically burning up. His face was red and even from where she was, she could feel intense heat emanating from him -that is, if she could trust her temperature-senses. Furthermore it seemed as though he was barely conscious. She knew that he could see her, judging from the grin he was attempting, but he could barely move at all. The fever was weakening him.

"What's happened to him?" she asked Gaara. He looked cooly back at her.

"It seems that the encounter with Itachi caused him to become unstable," he said. "He probably did something to Naruto's seal."

"Can I help?"

"Yes. Some teams from my village will be arriving soon. They'll be coming from the east gates." Gaara took out a pouch filled with scrolls and tossed it to her. "I only ask that you give them their orders." He stopped at that and then turned his attention back to Naruto. Yuki hesitated and tried to approach him again.

"I meant-" If there was anything she could do for Naruto? ...If she'd not been away in the first place, he wouldn't have been in this mess. If... god, too many ifs.

"I understood perfectly what you mean," Gaara said. "But there is not need for you to be here at the moment. It will be better if you work to free up an opening in order for Tsunade-dono and Jiraiya-sama to get back." Yuki looked reluctantly down at Naruto and then looked away as she stood back up.

"It is my duty to take care of him," she said. "But I'll trust you with Naruto. I'll be leaving then-"

"I'll go with you." It surprised her to realise that it was Sasuke who said that. She turned around to look at him carefully, but found that there was no trace, no hint of emotion in his expression. Yuki felt fairly tempted to activating her byakugan right then and there to figure out this enigma.

"No." Now that she noticed it, it seemed that Sasuke was injured as well. His left arm was looking a little bloody, and his face was sporting some rather painful-looking bruises. Of course... there were other reasons why she didn't think that he should be going with her. "You're injured. I'm going alone."

"Yuki-"

"About before," she interrupted him. Catching his eye, she swallowed down the impulse to escape without continuing with what she was about to say. Apologies to him were certainly in order. ...But since there was an audience, it hardly seemed appropriate. Then again, what she did the last time they met... that she imposed on him without making certain that she could reciprocate his feelings... "I'm sorry." Sasuke stiffened visibly.

"For what?"

"For not saying so earlier," she said, blushing as she looked away. "Thank you, Sasuke." She moved smoothly to his side, reached up and gave a peck on his cheek. His eyes widened in surprise. That was a first. Yuki blushed once more when she stepped back.

"Well, I have to go," she said, looking flustered as she started moving to the stairs.

"Wait-" Kakashi said, stopping her. If only he didn't have his mask on, she would've seen the silly grin he was sporting because of her previous scene with Sasuke. But business, of course, always came first. "Our southern defense line is weakening."

"Where are the anbu?"

"No good. Even they are scattered."

"And where is Tsunade-sama right now?"

"To the south east. It will take her some more time to get here."

"We don't have time," she said, biting her lip in frustration. She took out her anbu mask again and wore it- she had had it tied around her neck the whole time when she'd just arrived in the village. Well, it's not like they couldn't recognise her through her hair color anyway. Who other than Hatakes had white hair? (Although her hair was colored white for an entirely different reason.) "Sakura-chan, will you call all available ninjas from the room below to up here? I want a word with them." Sakura nodded compliantly and left at once. Without another word, Yuki jumped off the roof and into the back forest with the intention of scouting the perimeter. While she came back empty-handed, all the available officers were already assembled.

"Is this all?" she asked Sakura, who nodded in confirmation as she took her place in the line. Yuki then turned her attention to the group. "Hatake Yuki," she said by way of introduction. Her name was all that was needed anyway, as she immediately gained the whole of their attention. "I want all of you to split into four teams. The first two teams form two defense lines. One at the mouth of the civilian's escape route, and the other inside it.

"A third team will take a defense line here, and at the same time assist with the evacuation of all the civilians as well as the injured. I want the evacuation to be complete!" she said sternly. "The fourth team will go search for my anbu subordinates and pass this message on to them: Go to emergency plan E. Forget about losing our territory, what we need now is firm footing. This is an order! Now what are you still doing here?" At her last shout, they all scrambled - all except Sasuke, Sakura and Kakashi, whom she called back.

"Kakashi-niichan, I need you to watch my back. ...I need someone I can trust," she said seriously, and at the same time looking a little sullen. Kakashi placed a hand on her shoulder and shook her to get her attention. That was quite a sudden lapse of energy - but no matter, she felt alright presently.

"You never needed to ask," he said. "But you're not going to the south."

"Why not?" she asked, a little baffled.

"Itachi is there."

"All the more reason to then." Suddenly Sasuke moved to her side and grabbed her arm.

"I'm going too."

"No," she said firmly. "I need you and Sakura-chan to guard the Kazekage."

"Do you really think that I need a guard?" asked the amused voice of Gaara in the background.

"It would be more appropriate that I should leave you with support, at least," Yuki argued back. She saw Gaara lift his shoulders in a shrug without taking his attention off his current examination of Naruto's seal. "In any case," she began again as she turned back to Kakashi. "We have to head to the south-east first to help Tsunade-sama."

"Yuki-"

"Sasuke, no," she said in frustration. She leaned next to his ear and whispered, "I can't pull you away from here. I know you wouldn't want to leave your best friend like this..." Sasuke let go of her arm at that, and bowed his head slightly. Yuki awkwardly nudged his chin up with a bent forefinger. "I'll be back in a jiff. Please guard the Kazekage... in my stead. I trust you." She stepped away at that and stared at him for a moment. After she saw that he would comply she turned to Sakura and asked her to watch over all of them. Without any further ado, she and Kakashi left.

"Why don't you want Sasuke-kun to come?" Kakashi asked as they speeded their way into the village's southern territory. Yuki bit her lip and ignored him.

"This is where we separate," she said as she suddenly stopped in her tracks. Without any notice she tossed the scroll-filled bag that she received from Gaara to Kakashi and asked for him to pass those scrolls to the Hidden Sand's ninjas when they arrived. "I'll be heading to the south alone... Kakashi-niichan, I know I can trust you to bring Tsunade-sama back for us." The older man looked shocked.

"You're not-"

"I'll head back to the Tower when I'm done."

"Don't be foolish. You can't take Itachi by yourself!" he growled harshly.

"I don't intend to," she said with an easy grin. She turned her back to him and smiled even though he couldn't see it. "I'm only trying to buy you some time. Don't worry, Kakashi-niichan. I've grown a lot stronger than before." She dashed off before Kakashi could say anything else.

"Damn it, Yuki!"

**Back** at the Tower, Naruto was writhing in pain from the high temperatures. It was amazing enough to see that he was still alive... Sasuke knew that Yuki was right. Even with their open animosity towards each other, everybody knew that he and Naruto were the best of friends. The best partners ever. He couldn't just leave him to face that pain alone. Even if Sakura was there with him too. In a way, he was glad that he didn't have to make a choice - between staying with Naruto and help him through his present condition, or leaving him to god-knows-what while he could accompany Yuki. Even if he- ... Well, he was relieved that he didn't have to make the choice, and mentally thanked Yuki for that.

Yuki was yet another point... she'd kissed him on the cheek- a first. A very surprising first. And what a pleasant surprise it was. So, even though he wasn't with her right now, somehow he knew that everything was alright between them. Even though that really wasn't for sure... her actions still made him feel somewhat at peace. It was helping him concentrate with the present situation now that he knew that their own personal troubles could be put to rest. ...If only until he could get the definite words out of her mouth.

"Don't move too much, Sasuke. The wound on your arm could open again," Sakura warned, jolting him out of his thoughts. He brought his eyes back into focus and returned his attention to the situation while at the same time nodding to Sakura as by way of answer.

"I need a hand," Gaara said nonchalantly as he lifted his head up to them. The pair looked at him. Sakura moved first by kneeling down and then bending her head to also cross-examine Naruto's seal.

"How is he doing?" she asked.

"Isn't it obvious?" Gaara answered. Sakura looked at him with blatant exasperation. Gaara only smirked in response. "You people made some sly enemies."

"Hm? You mean the one that did this?" Sakura asked back. Gaara went silent. "What did he do exactly?"

"He manipulated his chakra producing system into producing heat."

"Then why is it affecting him so much? I thought that we only produce chakra when we're in battle."

"It is unfortunate that for Naruto, because of the influence of Kyuubi, his chakra system is also used to heal him. Which means... every time he moves, breathes, every time his body tries to cure itself, the energy produced for doing so builds extreme heat inside his body."

"So what's to be done?" Sasuke asked curtly as he cut the silence. Gaara looked up and stared at him. The atmosphere was rather tense. They used to be enemies after all. Gaara answered him just as curtly.

"Either cut down his entire energy source, which is to end his misery by killing him or lift the seal cast on him, then so letting him live. And it's obvious which choice I should make."

"Can you lift the seal then?" Sakura asked hurriedly.

"Of course," Gaara answered, with an arrogant smirk that was almost identical to Sasuke's. "But it will take some time. And I don't have the proper-"

"What do you need then?" Sasuke interrupted.

"You're helping me, Uchiha?"

"Don't be too full of yourself," he replied with a snort. "I'm only doing this for my best friend."

**Yuki** arrived at the southern defence point without much hassle, and to her astonishment, met with Shikamaru once again.

"Yuki-san? What are you doing here?"

"I'm ordering a retreat."

"We can hold this defence line," he replied stubbornly. Yuki squatted down next to him.

"Are you that confident? Kakashi-niichan told me that Itachi was here." That made him jump.

"Itachi is _here_? That's not right. There hasn't been any sign at all-" His voice trailed off and then he started swearing under his breath.

"Pull all of them back while I distract the enemies."

"We are very close to eliminating them at this point!" Shikamaru argued back.

"Then do it and leave," Yuki hissed back in frustration. The two glared at each other and then grudgingly turned away, knowing that both of their intentions were for the best.

"You're insane. You can't handle Itachi by yourself," Shikamaru said, accurately guessing her intentions. "What if the top members are here too, without us knowing?"

"I doubt it. Why else can't Tsunade-sama and Jiraiya-sama return to the centre of command?"

"Sometimes I wish that you weren't so sharp."

"Then I wouldn't be here in the first place. Now, please do it quickly and then pull everyone back to the shelters."

"Uchiha Sasuke will have my head for letting you go off to face that man. Not to mention the Hyuugas..."

"I won't tell them if you don't," Yuki said with a light-hearted attempt to release them from the tension in the atmosphere. "I'll be off then. On your cue." The two nodded in understanding and the girl immediately dashed off to another hiding place.

Unfortunately, Uchiha Itachi found her way before Shikamaru could do anything. He appeared in front of her in the blink of an eye.

"The little girl from before..." he said, raising his head to her perch on the tree. Yuki shivered a little. There was an element of danger in his voice which she could not deny. ...It was like terror waiting to be provoked.

"Hello cousin," she said, trying her best to keep her voice calm. To show that she wasn't anxious of his presence at all (which she was anyway), she jumped down from the tree and squarely faced him.

"I missed you when I woke up," he said coolly, training his eyes on her every movement. Yuki did the same thing to him and then matched her own breathing to his. His sharingan wasn't activated, so she assumed that she was relatively safe right then. Of course, she was still very aware of the fact that Itachi was rather prone to sudden attacks, so she didn't let her guard down at all.

"Sorry to hear that, but I was outside the country then," she replied just as coolly. But his continuous calmness was making her extremely jittery. If anything, the only thing that could save her presently was to not show him that she was afraid. That every inch of her muscles were presently screaming for her to run. But she knew that she had to stay. She wanted to stay, if only for a little while longer - she did promise to buy her friends some time.

However, one thought was nagging at her in the back of her mind - how come Shikamaru didn't know that Itachi was there? Itachi's stealth skills were superb, and she could understand how Shikamaru couldn't have detected him earlier, but... Why hadn't Itachi made his presence known? Why wait until she came out? ... Wasn't the reason why Akatsuki came to attack Konoha because... well it certainly couldn't have been because of her! ... Or... was it only a diversion? Did he mean to confuse them?

She suddenly had a really bad feeling in her gut.

"I didn't see you when I came back," she said lightly. If she could somehow get an answer from him...

"Oh? I was waiting for you to approach me. I didn't think that it would take so long." He was waiting for her! "I give you the honor of my attention purely because you are, after all, Uncle Taka's daughter. Although... I must say I'd never imagined that that Uchiha-reject could have seeded such a powerful girl."

"Don't.you.dare.insult.my.father!" she growled as she bent her knees, as if ready to jump. Itachi made a sudden step forward and turned his body sideways. She could see from the movement of his muscles that he was ready to attack. Well... if that was the case, then she was too.

"Did you know that your father discovered his sharingan rather late?" Why was the bloody bastard talking about her father! The tone he had when he was talking about it made her feel like the comment he just made was rather insulting. The rational part of her mind was telling her that according to the traditional customs of the Uchiha, receiving the sharingan late, especially when coming from a rather prestigious branch, _was_ pretty insulting. "And it was him who first brought up the secret of the mangekkyou to me."

"Lies," she thought harshly. "He's trying to break my focus." But at the back of her mind, she couldn't help but think, "What had her father any use for the mangekkyou in the first place?"

"Does that seem too hard to believe?" he asked maliciously when he did not receive any reply to his previous taunts.

"Can't you think of a better lie? My father would have had no use for it."

"Oh, but _Yuki-chan_, he had _every_ use for it." She shivered visibly when he said her name. The way he said it, felt colder than even the will of the Seishin itself. "We all know his love story. What was your version of it?"

"Come off it," she spat.

"Only _I_ know the truth." There was something that made her sick to her stomach in the way that he said that. Only he knew the truth. What truth was he talking about?

"What do you want from us?" she said, and then cursed herself for having revealed a tremble in her voice. Itachi smirked in satisfaction at that.

"Taka, my uncle, wanted to be with your mother no matter what. He was just about willing to sacrifice his best friend." That was it. She had enough. She didn't want to listen to him talking anymore about her father so she jumped from her place and lunged at him.

Itachi let out a cold laugh as he skillfully dodged her first attack. He successfully blocked the second one too as she twisted in the air and attempted to use her legs to kick him in mid-spin.

"You're decades behind me, _Yuki-chan_," he said with spiteful pleasure. Yuki was boiling with anger. She outstretched her arms to the ground to support her as she fell and then she extended her legs and spun herself around like a windmill. When none of her kicks connected she growled in frustrated and fell on her feet, squatting down for a quick breather. Itachi used the opening to ready for a kick, but Yuki was well out of the way when he was about to extend his leg. She flipped over him, trying to get her fingers on the clasps of his coat in an attempt to take it off, but she was unsuccessful. "He never could kill his best friend, you know. I found him out on the eve of the day he planned to-"

"Shut up!" Yuki shouted in obvious anger. Itachi saw the opening and swiftly delivered a kick to her middle, causing her to fly back and collide with a nearby tree trunk. The impact knocked all the breath out of her and forced her to spend some moments on the ground, trying to catch back her breath. "You're only saying all this to distract me," she choked as she forced her limbs to support her as she tried to standd back up.

"That might be it," he chuckled in self-satisfaction as he slowly made his way to her. "But have you never wondered how I found out about it?"

"Big deal. It's a family secret wasn't it? Well it's not much of a secret anymore, you can ask any intelligence officer anywhere," she said with difficulty as she was still gasping for breath. "But I can bet you were the one who first told Sasuke."

"Sasuke..." he growled. Yuki was about to pick herself up when he suddenly jerked her up by the neck, causing her to choke even more.

"At least that shut him up," she thought in the back of her mind just as her world about to darken once again.


	23. Injuries

**Disclaimer:** Naruto co. don't belong to me. They belong to Masashi Kishimoto.

**AN**: My plans got all jumbled up so it turns out that I'll be sending the computer in tomorrow, but you guys get to have the chapter today! XD

**Chapter: Injuries**

**"We** have to run through them," Kakashi said in a too-serious tone. With him were the two elders, Tsunade and Jiraiya.

"Can't we just... walk?" Jiraiya said, groaning.

"This is no time for jokes, Jiraiya!" Tsunade reprimanded him irritably as she knocked him one over the head.

"Who's joking!" he protested. "I was being serious."

"How is the situation at the centre anyway?" Tsunade asked, ignoring Jiraiya and then turning her attention to Kakashi.

"Yuki ordered a regroup. I also thought that it was the best thing to do at that time."

"Yuki is back? Where is she?" Tsunade asked, almost as if she were in a panic. Both Jiraiya andKakashi looked at her weirdly. She looked away and hid her face immediately, refusing to explain.

"She's told me that we have to head east to meet up with reinforcements from the Sand."

"But Yuki. Where is she, Kakashi?" Tsunade insisted.

"Beyond my influence," he answered hesitantly. "Now, we'll just have to go around them to get to-"

**"Oh** my god, they're back!" Sakura shrieked happily. "Kakashi-sensei, Jiraiya-sama, Tsunade-sama and the Sound-nins too!" They had relocated to inside the Tower, choosing to be with the rest of the ninja population instead of hanging up on the rooftop alone. Sakura had been put on the watch, and presently she was running down the stairs on the side to greet the long-awaited Hokage.

"What... about... Yuki-ch-..chan?" Naruto said with difficulty, trying to raise his head, but with no success. Sasuke put a hand near his collar bone and gently pushed him down and held him there to make sure that he wouldn't attempt it again.

"Shut up moron," he said nonchalantly. "Keep still and let that temperature ride out." Naruto glared at him but then grudgingly decided to do as he said. From where they were at they could hear the relieved talks and cheers from the ninja all around as the Hokage made her way up.

"Where are the rest?" he heard Tsunade ask. Shikamaru, who was nearby, went up to her to answer for them

"I sent them into defensive positions. We are all awaiting your orders."

"Leave it be for now," Tsunade said after a bit of thought. "The situation has gotten quieter for the time being."

"Actually Tsunade-sama," Shikamaru began hesitantly. But he could hardly find the words to continue so Tsunade turned her attention elsewhere.

"Where are the rest of our medical specialists? I don't see the anbu much either," she said disapprovingly.

"About that," Shikamaru said. "The Captain ordered for an emergency plan to be carried out by the anbu. And I... I sent the medical specialists after the Captain. I thought it was necessary to do that, Tsunade-sama, but if you say other wise I will of course, accept any punishment you have in mind."

"Nonsense, Shikamaru," she said with an easy smile that put him at ease. Sasuke saw the young Nara relax his shoulders, and felt a slight twinge of pity for him. Must be tough being a replacement leader. "But... where is that stubborn girl?" Tsunade's expression turned solemn and a bead of sweat appeared on her temple. "And I heard that that brat isn't looking too good either." Sasuke nearly broke into a smile when Naruto whipped his head up, glared at her and then stuck his tongue out. Tsunade noticed the gesture and rolled her eyes upward. "I take back what I said."

"Naruto, if you make any more sudden movements, your fever might shoot up again," Gaara said. "Sasuke, make sure he doesn't do any thing stupid again."

"You're asking the impossible," Sasuke replied as he pushed the blond boy down once more. Naruto grumbled hotly at them but lied down on the stretcher obediently once more.

"The fever hasn't broken yet, huh?" Tsunade commented as she squatted down next to the Kazekage.

"I'm missing something," Gaara said under his breath. Tsunade glanced sideways at him and then cross-examined Naruto herself. She breathed out a huge sigh of exasperation.

"We should use the time that's been bought for us wisely."

Sasuke saw that everyone's attention was now focused on Tsunade, and then, thinking that no one would miss him, saw that it was the perfect chance to slip away. However, Sakura caught him before he could even make a single step.

"Don't you trust her enough to come back to us?" Sakura confronted him. Sasuke didn't turn back to face her.

"She never said that she would."

"But she did say that she trusted you to stay here and guard the Kazekage, didn't she?" she challenged further.

"I _know_, damn it!" he growled, clenching his fist and then stomped back to Gaara's side.

Then- all of a sudden cold air blasted in through all the windows. The ones that had been on watch by the said windows were pushed down to the ground. Most were blown off their footing and had fallen to the floor. Sasuke, crouching down carefully, slowly crept up by the windows to try and peek at what was happening from the outside. The icy wind was helping some random voices to float to where he was.

"Captain! Please let us treat you!" Sasuke was already out and running when he heard the word 'Captain'. That meant that Yuki was around -alive! if not injured.

"I'm fine!" He heard the angry reply. The cold wind was still blasting around them in full force so it was difficult for him to keep a straight face, or a safe position.

"Yuki-chan!" Sakura was yelling from the roof top. He could see from where he was that the wind was blowing mercilessly up there too. But that wasn't what he was looking for. He looked all around him twice over and finally found Yuki staggering towards them just in front of him. She was clinging on to the walls of the buildings for support - and one of her hands, he could see, was massaging her neck.

"Yuki!" he called out. Her head snapped up and their eyes met. He noticed immediately that her eyes were blood-shot. Where the white should have been in her eyes were now red. The rest of her appearance did not indicate any further damage, except for some bruises on her arms, and dirt here and there. She'd definitely been in a fight. And probably only barely escaped. He tried to make a dash forward but was met with another angry blast of wind that brought his back to a crunch with the wall of the Tower. The back of his mind registered a shriek coming from above him, but he ignored it.

"Don't come anywhere near me!" Yuki shouted as she fell to her knees.

"Damn it, Yuki!"

"Back off Sasuke! I mean it!" Another angry burst of wind threatened to blow him off his feet and carry him to the top of the tower. But Sasuke chose to persevere and crouched even closer to the ground, using his chakra to give him a solid grip on the dirt floor.

He brought his arms before him to block the wind from cutting through to his face and then slowly moved forward. It was then when he realised that the blasted wind was actually coming from Yuki. Now, there was definitely something wrong happening.

"Don't," he heard her choke out, but he plunged forward anyway, inch by inch till he reached her side. The wind was completely calm where she was - just like the eye of a storm. The air was completely motionless. "Sasuke you idiot!"

"I'm not the idiot!" he argued back. "Stop moving and let me carry you inside." He moved to grab her arm and discovered the icy feel of her skin. It clicked. He'd seen this before. Oh, he'd _definitely_ seen these symptoms before. "What happened to you?" This was exactly what happened to Naruto after their encounter with Itachi. Only instead of the cold winds... it was waves of heat. It was impossible! What did Itachi do to her!

In Naruto's case, the cloth above his seal had been ripped off and the seal had started glowing bright red. Yuki didn't have a seal on her for Itachi to use the same jutsu... did she? Sasuke gave her another once-over and found _it_. It was sitting right above her waist on the left side - glowing bright blue.

"It's... s-so cold," Yuki said as she started to fall forward. Sasuke caught her before she could fall to the ground and found that her entire body was like ice. Even her lips had already turned deathly blue. "Best not hold me for too long, Sasuke. You could get frost bite," she said weakly as she tried to pull herself off him. But Sasuke ignored that and then swiftly picked her up. If his guess was right, the cold wind would cease soon and then it would be safe for him to bring her inside the Tower. ... And then her temperature would drop even more. ...But just what the heck was that seal on her for! "Wh-where are you taking- m-me?"

"Tsunade-sama should be able to help you," he said shortly as he tried to run as fast as he could up the stairs.

"Oh... g-good. S-she's back-k."

"Stop talking," he cut in, and she silenced immediately.

"Yuki!" came a few voices as Sasuke re-entered the room. A stretcher was already prepared so he put her down on it and tried to explain swiftly what he thought had happened.

"The same?" As Naruto? Gaara was the one that asked him. Sasuke merely nodded in confirmation. He watched silently as the Kazekage and the Hokage moved to a corner... whilst in a heated discussion.

"S-Sasuk-ke?" Yuki gasped, trying to lift her head. Similar to what he did to Naruto earlier, he put a palm just on her collarbone and slowly pushed her back down. "Tsu-Tsun..."

"Yes, I know. Don't try to talk," he said. The girl was shivering so badly - the blankets that they were starting to pile on her didn't seem to be of any help at all. "Tsunade-sama!" he called her. The older woman whipped her head around and then frowned worriedly as she followed his beckoning.

"S-seal..." Yuki gasped. Sasuke frowned at her for talking, but it couldn't be helped. If they didn't know more about what had happened there probably would've been no way to help her. Tsunade sat on the floor next to her and then attempted to assist her by sitting her up. "I-ta-ch-chi. N-need count-ter balanc-ss-ing chak-kra."

"A counter balance? Yes, I know, but how? It'll take us too long to find one that could perfectly-"

"R-remember K-kyuu-b-bi?" she said, trying to lift the corner of her lips into a smile.

"She's right." came the commanding voice of the Kazekage. He stood next to Tsunade and crossed his arms in front of him. "You told me that she'd done the same thing for Naruto once before."

"When?" the older woman demanded in her confusion.

"When she was a child," came another voice into the mix. It was Kakashi. He was with the group on the other side of the room hanging over Naruto. "He's right. I'd seen it been done before. Their chakra could counteract against each other perfectly."

"That's impossible now- What about the Seishin-"

"The Seishin and Yuki... are of the same type originally," Gaara said calmly. "It _will_ work." Tsunade bit her lip, but did not give any further resistance.

"N-Narut-to-kun to-o m-me and t-then me to Naruto-k-kun," Yuki gasped out as her back gave away. Luckily Tsunade was already behind her to catch her, but she couldn't hold on to the younger girl too long - she was too cold! "Need Ne-Ne-ji's h-help-p."

"Somebody get Neji in here!" Tsunade called. She ordered Kakashi to bring Naruto over alongside Yuki to prepare them. Sasuke found that he could do nothing but watch beside them as they continued to suffer. He stared down to Yuki's eyes as she tried to maintain her focus of her surroundings. She tried to lift the corners of her lips again, to smile as she dully watched Sasuke's eyes fade in and out of her currently blur state.

"Anything I can do?" Sasuke whispered lowly as he brought his head down and ear closer as he waited for an answer.

"No," she said hoarsely. All the trembles were gone from her voice... but was now replaced with the sudden hoarseness. "But... thanks."

All heads looked up as Neji entered the room. Tsunade beckoned him to come closer so he squatted down next to her on Naruto's side, opposite where Sasuke was on Yuki's side.

"I... n-need your eyes," Yuki said before he could ask anything. Sasuke took the cue and then lifted her to a sitting position slightly facing Naruto, Tsunade and Neji. The Uchiha made firm his place by promptly sitting behind her whilst letting her cold back lean on his chest. His arms went under the blanket and around her waist just in case she started to slip. It was a rather compromising position, but nobody was minding that at the moment.

"My eyes?" he asked gently in response.

"The chakra points... I can't see them-" her voice cut off as veins slowly started popping up near her eyes. Sasuke saw it from the side and witnessed the colour of her pupils start to fade out.

"But I thought-"

"Only barely. Just... barely," that was all she could say. She looked down to Naruto and gave him a tiny reassuring smile. Neji followed her cure and activated his own byakugan. Tsunade watched him closely as he tried to guide Yuki's fingers to the exact points, while also trying to explain to their audience of what was going to happen.

"Yuki has to transfer her chakra to Naruto through exact points over his seal," she said. "The points of impact have to be precise, and the amount of chakra has to be exact. On the other hand, Naruto does no need guiding points to discharge his chakra on her seal... for one it's because Yuki's seal is smaller. Secondly... unlike Kyuubi that's trapped in a particular cell in his boy, the Fuyu Seishin's domain is unrestricted. So Naruto has to plug in as much chakra as he can into her to reach it." It sounded a little complicated. But not impossible.

"I can't do it!" Yuki exclaimed irritably, grabbing all their attention once more. "It's no use. I can't see it properly. I'll just have to-..." Sasuke kept watching on silently as the nerve traces brought up by the byakugan faded away... and the sharingan spots suddenly emerge. "I can only copy your movement." Neji gave her a nod and then held up a hand in front of her. He stretched and bent his fingers to form 5 points like on a star.

"Wait," Gaara commanded softly as he moved forward. Sand started to collect around Naruto. It appeared that he was using them to help lift the blonde boy up a little. "This should be more convenient."

"Ready?" Neji asked Yuki. She nodded and focused her entire mind's sight on to the movements of his hand. He brought it sharply down and stopped just as he touched the skin just over the important chakra points - so he wouldn't end up hurting the already injured blonde unnecessarily.

"Okay," Yuki said as she then lifted her own hand.

"Naruto," Tsunade said. The blonde shifted his eyes to her. "All you need to do is collect chakra to your palm. Just like the _rasengan_, but don't make them swirl. Leave to it to collect in a large amount okay?" He blinked. "No swirling, Naruto, or you could hurt her." It seemed that he was almost too far gone in his fever to muster up any energy to even speak, but he still managed to give them a slight nod in confirmation.

"Sasuke," Yuki said under her breath. "You best let me go now."

"Yes. You should get out of the way," Gaara said too.

"No," was the stubborn reply.

"Don't say we didn't warn you," she said. Tsunade caught the ready look in her eyes and then stood up. She ordered all of them to give them some space. Well... a lot of space.

"You must hit each other over the seal at the _same_ time, understand?" said Tsunade sternly. "If one of you is cancelled out before the other then there's a low chance for us to help the one that hasn't been cured yet."

"On one. Three," Gaara said. Both Yuki and Naruto brought up their hands and started collecting their chakra. The crowd silently witnessed the red flames from Naruto, and icy blue for Yuki, grow and dance around their palm and fingers. "Two." They went to a ready position. Sasuke unconsciously tightened his grip over Yuki.

At the call of, "One," there was a tense half-second where everybody started holding in their breath and then the moment of impact which was equally silent. Then when everyone started to let go of the tension Naruto and Yuki were somehow forcefully thrown back to opposite sides of the room. They were practically flying at high speed.

Naruto was lucky, the sand - though the force of the impact made it so he had burst through several walls of it, finally caught him in mid air before he could collide into the room's walls. Yuki, on the other hand... well, she was lucky too, but only because Sasuke had softened the impact for her and as a result he was then lying on a heap under her near the corner of the room.

"It worked!" Sakura cried out. She was the first to move - and had immediately tested out Naruto's temperature, which had significantly dropped. Gaara had manipulated his sand to carry him back to the centre of the room on a half-lying, half-sitting up position. Naruto kept blinking his eyes and then shifting from one side to another, as if trying to get his body to work properly again.

"That..." he said hoarsely. They all looked at him expectantly. He then burst out in a smile and then slowly pulled himself up. "That was awesome!" They all were near cheering when they looked over to the other side of the room - but then they found the other two that had been blown off... in an unmoving pile.

"Sasuke! Yuki-chan!" Naruto hollered as he slowly moved his still-shaky legs in their direction. His sudden panic was eased slightly as he saw that the Sasuke was, at least, moving.

Indeed, at least he was, but he had all the wind knocked out of him, so he was feeling very unbalanced. That and coupled with the weight on top of him. Carefully he moved from under the body and slowly pulled himself out.

"Yuki?" He received no answer. He quickly twisted around to face her. -She didn't seem to be breathing at all! "Oi..." Tsunade was suddenly beside her, checking her pulse, and somebody was pulling him up. He ignored whoever it was and focused his attention on Yuki. Only Yuki.

"Not good. Her pulse... it's still slowing," she said. Despair. It was written all over her face, and it was causing a pangs of discomfort that unsettled his heart.

"The effect might have been delayed-" Gaara began, but was interrupted by a random ninja that just entered the room.

"It's Itachi!" he cried out. "He's heading this way!" Of all the bad luck...

"Sasuke! Take her to a safe place! Go now!"


	24. My Wounds Cry

**Disclaimer: **Naruto belongs to Kishimoto Masashi, contents of the following text only serve entertainment purposes.

**AN:** My computer is okay now... faster than I expected too XD Here is part 24 to you... -right! I'll go start working on the next chapter now -grin-

**Chapter: My Wounds Cry**

_"Yuki."_

_"Oi. Yuki."_

_"Wake up."_

There was a dark silhouette against the wooden walls. It was moving... swaying from side to side as it danced with the pale orange glow that enveloped that corner of the room. She felt warm.

She was lying on something that was rather soft on some places... felt like hard muscles on the other places (which just seemed ludicrous but she did not feel like she had enough energy to even laugh) - and then there was that familiar scent she just... She felt some fondness for that scent. It was pulling her more and more in to the world of heat she was trapped in. But the heat... it was delicious.

If the baffling assortment of emotions that passed through her weren't surprising enough, she was introduced to a set of obsidian pearls that shimmered... glinted... glowed some thrilling shade of black and red. The pearls were probing deep in her own soul... continuously watching. It seemed impossible to run away from...

"Yuki?" said a deep resonating voice. But... how? How could such a lovely voice belong to those... demon-like jewels? Then again... the way the look those deep black circles were giving her made her feel as though stripping her soul naked was one of the safest things to do in the world.

Not too long later, her eyes started clearing up and she could finally realise that it was Sasuke's eyes that show as staring up at. His brows were fixed together showing an expression of such great sorry.

"Hey..." she whispered with difficulty.

"Yuki?" Those eyes widened and then squeezed shut. She felt herself being pulled closer... deeper into that oh-so-comfortable heat. It was lulling her back into a state of slumber.

**"So **what is it?" he asked as she awoke fully the next time. Yuki found herself still wrapped by his warmth - back facing his front, and they were inside some dark wooden room. She saw an exit on one end, but other than that, all she could see was the blanket that covered her and Sasuke as well as the glow of what were the remains of a small campfire.

"What do you mean?" she asked. Sasuke narrowed his eyes as he noticed that her voice was hoarse. Well... she probably hadn't eaten properly in some time. Trying not to move her so much he reached to his side where the water canteen was and offered it to her- which she gratefully accepted and drank with slow sips.

"I've had some time to think," he muttered. And indeed he did. After nursing both Yuki and himself, he had nearly three days to recuperate up till this moment. Three days. "The seal. What is it?" he prompted. In truth he wanted to lash out at someone. The seal. He kept replaying the scene from that day over and over in his mind and came to one conclusion- amongst those that he thought mattered it was only himself who seemed to have not known its existence. Tsunade, Kakashi, Gaara, Neji- heck even Naruto knew! But first- exactly what was it for in the first place?

"The Fuyu Seishin." Yes. Seishin. He'd recalled that Gaara mentioned that. That also explained why she turned icy cold that day. "I had it sealed in me when I was at the Hidden Sand."

"Why?" he asked sharply. Yuki winced.

"I needed its power."

"Power... huh." Yuki winced again as his grip tightened around her. "I was the only one that didn't know, wasn't I?"

"Sakura-chan-"

"Yuki!"

"Yes," she said immediately at the sound of the impatience in his voice. "You were the only one," she said. She squeezed her eyes shut as Sasuke made to turn her around. She knew that he was trying to stare her into opening her eyes, but she just couldn't. She knew this time would come. She knew she would be forced to bear witness to his anger once more. His pain.

"Am I so little in your eyes that you couldn't even-" At that point Yuki opened her eyes and reached up to his lips - locking them both in a slow lingering kiss.

"I'm really sorry," she said as they parted, blushing and then turning away. Sasuke was blushing and awkwardly turning away as well. "I just wasn't... really sure then."

"And now?" he asked. She became conscious of his breath tickling her neck and suddenly buried her head under his chin. "Will you be with me now?"

"For as long as you want me to."

**"Where **is everyone, Sasuke?" she asked, hours later.

"Safe," he answered. "We had to leave them at the tower and escape under Tsunade-sama's command."

"Why?"

"Itachi was approaching-"

"You mean they're fighting him? Now? _What?_"

"Relax. They're still safe. A messenger has already given me details of their situation now. They found us yesterday."

"We should get back to them-"

"Neither of us is in any state to... yet."

"But-"

"Yes, I know. Just one more day."

"But I-... okay. One more day," she consented grudgingly. "Itachi... won't do anything to them without us around anyway."

"Why do you say that?"

"It's a gut feeling."

"... Are you going to tell me what happened when you went after him?"

_**flashback**_

"The moment she said Sasuke's name in the man's face, his eyes turned the dreaded blood red colour.

"My little brother is becoming a nuisance."

"Do you regret not having killed him earlier?" she challenged - even though she knew she was the one that was worse off. His hand was still clutching her around her neck after all. A little tighter and he could completely cut off her air supply.

"What I regret," he said through clenched teeth as he shifted his fingers to an even more uncomfortable position. "Is _none_ of _your_ concern." There was a flash of red hot anger and desperation that mixed in his eyes as the wheels of the sharingan to spin her life away. "Taka's... daughter..." he growled as he smirked manically. "I am going to make you suffer."

At that moment he threw her to the side, ripped open the cloth over the Seishin's seal and punched all the fingers of one hand over it. It all happened in a matter of milliseconds - she couldn't keep up.

Whatever he did to her - caused her to fly back yet again - hitting yet another tree. God the pain was awful. And there was a newer kind of pain seeping in though the place Itachi just hit her. It wasn't the dull ache that usually followed any physical attack - but something sharper. More intense. She had to get out of there immediately - if this continued, she could die without even starting to form a plan to counterattack him.

"I'll be back another time," she said, glaring at the self-satisfied smirk that he had on his face, and then escaped.

_**end flashback**_

**"It's **been quiet," Kakashi commented. His team was on the first watch that night. It was quite some time since the fighting slowed down that day.

"Yes," Sakura agreed. "I wonder how Sasuke-kun and Yuki-chan are doing."

"They're alright! I'm sure of it!" exclaimed the blonde, hyperactive as always. "Anyway, we have to focus on holding our own defence until then." Kakashi and Sakura were nearly thrown off their perch because of the sudden sincere seriousness in his voice. "I'm going to kick that Uchiha's sorry as goodbye and then settle down with a nice cup of 3-minute ramen!" Without their noticing Sasuke and Yuki had already entered hearing distance.

"Watch it, Uzumaki," Sasuke grumpily shot back. Naruto turned around and glared at him.

"Shut up Sasuke! I wasn't talking about you! Even though that'd be the case after this war!"

"How reassuring," the dark-haired youth responded sarcastically. "But it's not like a dunce like you could beat me anyway." Naruto was about to make a retort when he finally realised it- they were there!

"Sasuke-kun! Yuki-chan!" Sakura cried out in her relief - but Yuki was already embracing her brother tightly.

"_Aaa!_" Naruto exclaimed loudly in surprise. "When did you guys come back?"

"Dunce."

"Take that back, Sasuke you jerk!"

"Really!" exclaimed an aggravated Tsunade as she appeared beside them. "I leave you guys alone for just one day-Well, I thought I recognised Naruto's yelling... Welcome back you two."

"So what's the plan?" Yuki asked.

"You'll have to listen to the information we obtained first. Kakashi- I'll be taking them with me." He nodded in affirmation and ushered them along. The two offered no protest as they were brought to the camp - to Shikamaru who was at that moment at the centre of all intelligence reports. Tsunade signalled that she would replace him and then pushed Sasuke and Yuki to his direction.

"Ah. I'd wondered if either of you were still alive."

"... That was _such _a warm welcome, Shikamaru-san." The youth smirked and shrugged it off.

"We had no doubt that you had survived. Even the Kazekage gave his guarantee."

"The Kazekage - where is Gaara?"

"With Jiraiya-sama on watch. We should ask them to regroup - now that everyone's here."

"Does this mean that you've made a plan?" Yuki asked.

"Of course," he said. "But we couldn't do anything without the two of you. In this plan... both of you will act as bait and our offensive front line." At the confused looks on their faces, Shikamaru first asked that they find a place to sit before starting his briefing. "I'm sure that you are both aware that the main reason why Akatsuki has attacked Konoha is because they want to conquer us."

"I don't think so," Sasuke replied shortly. Shikamaru nodded but did not ask what made him think so.

"I am of the same opinion," he continued. "But Konoha really is Akatsuki's true aim. Uchiha Itachi on the other hand... has another objective. Why that is so... even I don't know. But his true target is either one of you, or both."

"Us?" Yuki and Sasuke said in unison.

"Any reason as to why?" Shikamaru asked. He grumbled when he didn't receive any response. "I was hoping either of you could tell me. ...In any case, by now I believe Itachi will have known that you've both returned to us. Which is why... I will suggest to the Hokage, that instead of waiting for them to attack us, we'd do better to attack them first."

Not long later, all able-bodied ninjas were busy rushing around here and there to prepare for Shikamaru's plan of attack - now approved by the Hokage. The strategy planner was now at a corner of the open field talking to his father, the elder Nara who was, like his son, going to be one of the squad leaders for their attack.

The entire militia of Konoha were split into two, with half of them to carry out the plan, and the other half to protect the civilians.

According to the plan, they were to split up to 7 teams, headed by Shikamaru, Ibiki, Iruka, Kakashi, Kiba, Asuma and the elder Nara. Shikamaru grouped himself with Yuki, Sasuke, Neji, all the main players who had the highest possibility of surviving against Uchiha Itachi - which means that the four of them would be the ones at the centre of attack. Kiba and Hinata with Kakashi and Sakura formed joint teams as the secondary attack line. The rest were on defence.

**"Hey**, Sasuke," Yuki suddenly called, just as they were all preparing to depart. Yes. They were to carry out the plan immediately. At that moment Yuki and Sasuke were with the medic-nins checking their medi-pack inventory. "Would you wait for me?" Sasuke returned her smile with a puzzled look. Wait for her...?

"If you wish," he answered, when he couldn't think of anything else to say. Yuki returned her gaze to the pack she was holding with a sincerely grateful smile on her lips.

"Good," she said softly.

Not long later they were all flying through the forests at high speed. Tensions high and thick, Yuki was with Neji and they were to temporarily break away from Sasuke and Shikamaru who were to form the next unit a little away, but still within sight. It was all part of the plan.

"Don't forget... I'm taking your word that you'd wait for me," Yuki said, reaching up to him for a last kiss before they had to split up. Sasuke didn't even have a chance to say anything before she sped off away from them. He was only left with that oddly peaceful smile on her face and a foreboding twitch in his heart.

Somehow he knew that she was planning something dangerous.

**"Just **so you know, I am against what you are planning to do," Neji said as she caught to his pace. Yuki looked up at him in surprise. "If your own plan fails, we will be left with a limited number of options."

"I won't fail," she said determinedly. Neji frowned but did not offer any argument.

"I feel disturbed that the Uchiha recklessness in your blood is overcoming our clan's more calm, coolheaded nature."

"Don't be," Yuki said with a little laugh to release the tension. "Hey Neji, is there ever a chance where the sharingan and byakugan could be fused?"

"Fused? You mean... to create a new blood-limit?" Yuki nodded. "The fact that both skills can be used at the same time itself is amazing enough. There is no need to fuse it." Neji looked at her carefully - judging her expressions and body language. She was worried about something. True enough- she revealed it to him right away.

"... I... actually am a little worried about... the mangekkyou sharingan."

"Shikamaru and I have discussed this... and we came to the conclusion that, with your completed sharingan, in theory you can repel the mangekkyou."

"Is that a chance I can take?"

"I said, in theory," he reaffirmed. "But no. I would advise against it. However... if the situation allows you to repel it, that you will be the only one who can attack him without a handicap. But you must remember that this theory only applies to when you have both sharingan and byakugan activated. Whilst your sharingan can immunise the effects of the mangekkyou, it will only be for just a little while, or for just a little amount of damage. The byakugan will support the immunisation with its power. Only then can you repel it completely."

"How about you- Neji?"

"To try and repel it with the byakugan on its own? No... it doesn't have enough of the same style of power to repel it completely."

"So, basically, he's all mine when the mangekkyou is on?"

"Again, this is in theory."

"Perfect," she said good-naturedly as she rolled her eyes upward. Neji watched her silently as she ploughed forward taking a faster pace. He thought back to the conversation he and Shikamaru had just before they left site.

_**flashback**_

"Shikamaru-"

"Yeah, I know. It's risky."

"Even the previous two Kanzen Seishin could barely repel-"

"Yes they could," he interrupted him, but with a troubled look on his face.

"No they couldn't," Neji insisted.

"Well, _she_ can make it," he said stubbornly.

"Why didn't you tell her?"

"Why didn't _you_?"

"Because!" Neji exclaimed uncharacteristically. "I know she's planning to sacrifice herself anyway. I just hope she doesn't go through the mangekkyou-"

"Haven't you seen her eyes when she talks about Itachi?" Shikamaru interrupted once more. "She's already seen her nightmare world. She knows what she'd be going through... anything we say won't make any difference."

_**end flashback**_

"There's our target," said Kakashi. It had been a while since the mission had started and he was sure that by now everyone would have reached their destinations... or at least most of them. They were still waiting for Shikamaru's team to give the go.

"He doesn't seem to be too concerned," Sakura hissed at him as she took a peek through the foliage. "Itachi I mean..." Kakashi frowned and looked away, making sure that the other half of his team - Kiba and Hinata who were a little away from them but he could still see them - were alright. Kiba caught his look and gave him a thumbs-up signal to show him that they were ready.

"Kakashi-sensei," said Sakura. "I think we should move back a little. The wind is picking up." Kakashi shook his head and gestured with his hands, an order to stay. At the same time, with the radio set pieces attached to their ears - standard equipment - they heard some radio static, signalling that someone was trying to transmit a message.

"Shikamaru. First and second point secure."

"They're ready!" Kakashi said under his breath and then brought his fingers up to get ready to push the button for his own transmission.

"Nara. Secure."

"Ibiki. Secure."

"Asuma. Secure."

"Iruka. Secure."

"Kiba. Secure."

"Kakashi. Ready."

"Sakura." Her sudden appearance over the channel caused him to swing his head over to her direction. She was crouched down very low on the ground, peering through the shrubs. "Main target is standing up. I suspect that he is aware that something's amiss."

"Shikamaru. Noted." There was a moment where everything in the forest became silent. Everything was still... it was as if even time stopped to accommodate the sudden inactivity. Then came the radio static once more.

"Yuki." His heart skipped a beat. "Target is aware. I repeat. Target is aware. Shikamaru, please advise!" Kakashi heard some remnants of a short argument before the next voice came online. Already his nerves were tingling.

"Defence teams go!" Suddenly, cutting the silence of the forest was a flurry of activity - soundless to the inexperienced ear - but Kakashi could hear cloth flapping in the air mixed with the soft thumps of people jumping on the tree branches. "Kakashi, Kiba - I need visual confirmation that the defence teams have reached their positions."

**"Yuki!**" Neji hissed. "It's not time to go yet!" Her eyes flashed a pleading disbelief at him.

"Are you kidding me! We have to-"

"Wait for Shikamaru," he urged forcibly. Yuki was about to protest when he glared at her. "What's gotten in to you?" he growled. "Where are the values you learnt from the Sandaime?" Yuki looked like she'd been punched. "You've forgotten yourself. Now sit still." Yuki fell to the forest floor silently - without any argument. Some colour left her face as their situation started making some sense in her mind again.

He was right. Where had her rational mind gone to? She closed her eyes and took in deep breaths. She had to calm down. She had to be calm to go through what she planned. Calm... and at peace.

Radio static. "We have visual confirmation. Please advice."

"Good. Second attack team assume your positions."

"Yuki- get ready to leave," Neji said. Yuki opened her eyes slowly, showing him the fierce grip she had on her senses right them. "You're calm. Good. Sasuke says that we'll be going around-"

"Let me go alone," she said, looking up at him. He frowned at her suspiciously. "You know what I'm going to do."

"No I don't. Don't jeopardise the plan Yuki. You, of all people, should know the consequences of disrupting a group plan."

"I won't."

"... It's not for me to decide. Besides. It won't matter if you go now, or if you go later. We'll all have a piece of this fight," he said, turning his attention back to where it was earlier.

"Neji. Yuki. Let's go." Their eyes snapped to each other at the same time. All of their previous conversation was forgotten as they jumped off and dashed to their final position.

Yuki could feel a strange whirl of feelings in her gut the closer they were to Itachi. She saw all her comrades fighting head to head with the other Akatsuki members, but the only one in her sight presently was Uchiha Itachi.

And surely enough, he was staring straight back at her.

She saw his lips move slightly to say, "You're slow." She'd never heard anything so much anger-inducing in her life.


	25. An End

**Disclaimer: **Naruto belongs to Kishimoto Masashi, contents of the following text only serve entertainment purposes.

**AN:** Things are just about to close... I hope you're ready for it. Thanks all for having been with me. Just kidding, it doesn't end here... or does it?

**Chapter: An End**

She forgot all about her comrades. She forgot about Sasuke who was glaring suspiciously at both herself and his brother. Shikamaru with an 'I knew it!' look on his face. The troubled look on her cousing, Neji's, face. She forgot about all that. All she could see was that aggravating Uchiha that was smirking at her.

And all she could feel was the soft but powerful thumping in her mind. The furious beat of her heart that fueled the painful aches in her temples as she activated her inherited bloodskills.

Yuki saw the chakra-produced protection shield around him and stopped abruptly, kicking up dust - it nearly went to her eye but fortunately she had the sense to avoid it by running tight circles around him. She stopped running and then jumped high up and used a ninjutsu to keep her airborne for a short while.

From the corner of her eye she saw Neji charge through, palm first and connected with the shield. It didn't manage to pass through and break it completely, but it did manage to crack it slightly. Shikamaru assisted him by throwing a well-aimed kunai straight through the crack to agitate the 'broken' part even more so. She almost could've smiled when she saw the double combo being followed up by Sasuke charging through - as Neji did - only with some explosive fire skill instead.

She watched - slightly amazed at the combination and also amazed to see the fire 'eat up' the protective barrier. From where she was she noticed the smirk on Itachi's face as he flipped open one side of his coat to free up his arms. Already, they could tell that he was going to be very serious.

Sasuke was staying silent all this while. This was the fight he'd been waiting for - for too long. He had the power to kill him. He had the resources and all the help... but the thought didn't really appeal to him as much anymore. No. It was not so much killing him that he wanted anymore - but defeating him... once and for all. Somehow he felt sure that that would be enough for him. So at the moment... they had to work on their teamwork... and he felt sure that he could meet their standards.

"You've taken too long to come up to this level," Itachi said when they had eye contact. They had identical smirks on their faces.

"I don't need your acknowledgement," he spat back. He jumped away when he saw Yuki coming down from above. Itachi stepped away, just missing impact and then quickly transported himself even further away when Yuki tried to comeback at him by swinging her legs. That missed, but Neji was already on his tail.

He skilfully executed a direct palm-front attack right to the middle of his chest but it could only singe him as he even more skilfully dodged it. The others watched in anticipation, each nerve ready to jump at an opening, as Neji tried to battle him out one-on-one.

"Too slow," Itachi said in a bored tone as he flipped Neji over when he had tried to hit him from the back. Yuki saw him jump away and realised what he was about to do. Quickly she jumped over to Neji's side and brutely forced him to stand up. It took only one glance towards each other to understand that they were to do-

"Kaiten!" With demonic precision they executed the Heavenly Spin at the exact same time - causing all the trees to tremble as the initial effect - and then Itachi let loose a fireskill that shot straight at them - but the force of the spin, doubled, was too strong. The shot bounced right off and disappeared. The grass... shrubs... even the smaller trees nearby uprooted. Whoever was nearby had to crouch down very low to the ground or have a grip on the sturdiest tree to remain sure-footed. Even Shikamaru was almost blown away - and could have been if he hadn't grabbed on to the branch above him!

But that was only the effect on the edges of the spin - Yuki felt like she had just tossed herself into a mixer, and she was the mixing device. The overlapping bits of Neji's and her own spin ploughed through her mind and body like a bulldozer though a paper-thin wall. It shook the very centre of gravity for her and threatened to blow herself off as well. From what she could make out of Neji though the high speeds of the spin and all the bits and pieces of soil and greens that it was kicking up - she could see that even he was having difficulty maintaining his balance.

She could've cried in relief when the spin was coming to its end - however even then it was shaking the grounds violently. When it stopped shaking her world, she quickly looked for where Itachi was - and found even him shaken by the spin, trying to keep count of his steps. Not even completely unshaken, he pounced to the nearby Shikamaru, who couldn't seem to move at all. Just when the hit was about to connect, they were surprised with Itachi stopping completely.

"Wha-" It seemed Shikamaru used his quick-thinking and had binded him with his shadow. Unfortunately that forced him to commit the only move he could.

It took only a split second for Itachi to realise that being binded by the shadows - he was blocked at almost all sides. The only way immediately out was to use his mangekkyou sharingan.

"Close your eyes!" Shikamaru shouted frantically as he even closed his own. Luckily for him, Itachi's eyes closed with his as well. Yuki did not heed to his suggestion and made a full 360-turn to make sure everyone else was a safe distance away.

"Shikamaru! Let him go!" she shouted out as she dashed over to where he was. Shikamaru was, luckily, right on the timing and she did a mid air kick to force him away from Shikamaru. The act turned out right, but now forced herself into the most vulnerable position.

"Was that the right thing to do?" Itachi's voice rang in her ears, but she kept a firm grip on her frustration. What she was about to do would change the course of battle immediately. Just by the single glance of the mangekkyou... that would change everything. "Taka made some quite stupid mistakes on his own too..."

"Shut up! What is it with you against my father?" she said angrily, glaring at his feet - since she couldn't to his face... yet.

"But my dear." God. His voice was suddenly right next to her ear! He'd transported himself to her side in a milisecond! "He... was the person closest to me."

Her mind blanked out in confusion from what she'd just heard - and all she could think off was that he was practicaly breathing down her neck! ...She jumped from that thought immediately to the plan she was going to excecute.

Quickly she brought up her hands to form seals infront of her and succeeded in making a barrier in practically a single heart beat. The barrier trapped both her and Itachi in it.

"Bet you're wondering what I'm planning," she taunted as she brought her eyes up, doubly making sure that her blood limits were still functioning well. ...She didn't have much time left with them both on at the same time anyway. Whatever happens when their eyes meet... that'd be what'd change it.

Since she had already resolved to jump right into it, she brought her hands up once more to another seal to begin her next move. And then... their eyes met...

**Darkness...**

It seemed that darkness had been consuming her entire life since all this trouble came up. She'd blacked out... for a rather lengthy time for the first time at Itachi's first attempt to escape. She'd blacked out when the Fuyu Seishin was sealed in her. On the way back home. At Akatsuki's initial attack. The dawn afterwards... when else was that?

Maybe she was getting used to the darkness... maybe that was why she didn't feel so afraid of it anymore. Or maybe... it was the fact that she had anticipated this. The unending depths of nothingness. This...

Wait-!

There was colour. Colour? She looked on, baffled at it's sudden appearance. She was expecting some red... black, grey... not green. Or blue. Or the sun's gold... This was supposed to be the nightmare world that the mangekkyou created! It was supposed to be-

"Itachi!" There was a shout of surprise. She was unfamiliar with this voice.

"Uncle?" Where was the voice coming from? All around her was whirlpools of random colours. Some bits were like a rainbow... others like the murky swamps. This was _definitely_ not her nightmare world. "Uncle Taka- _No!_" Uncle... Taka... wait... could it be...

"Itachi..." said the voice of the first person. It sounded grave, deep... malicious. The images around her started getting clearer. Shadier. It was a room - she could at least make that out. She saw Itachi in an anbu uniform near the centre of it, just out of the way from the moonlight coming in from the windows. There were two bodies piled up illuminated by the lights outside in the middle of the floor.

It couldn't be! This place looked... felt too much like...

"Uncle..." She saw Itachi turn to the shadows where there were two eyes glinting near the corner. Her heart skipped a beat when the figure in the shadows moved a little closer to the light. ...Just _what _was going on?

Suddenly the scene distorted and became another colourful whirlpool. The colours wouldn't stop spinning, but out of the chaotic messes she could somehow make out an image of Itachi training. Itachi practising kunai-throwing with Sasuke. Itachi sad. Itachi pleased. Itachi. Itachi. Itachi. Images of him getting younger and younger, until it seemed that it stopped to a point when he was at one particular age. When he was merely a child. The colours stopped spinning, and she seemed to be standing in the middle of a forest.

"Shisui! What's Uncle Taka doing?" Itachi hissed to his friend. They were crouched down near an overgrown shrub. There were two figures talking in the distance... and it was night time.

"Shush, Itachi. We're supposed to be keeping watch for him. We don't want him to get caught, right?"

"...I guess."

The scene made a fast-forward.

"...must kill closest person to you. ...must kill..." Yuki swiveled her head around to the voice to find the figure she kept on seeing in this dream-like place, pass right through her.

"Must kill who, Uncle?" asked the childish voice of the young Itachi. He was standing right next to him but the figure, the 'Uncle' didn't seem to have noticed earlier.

"Itachi! What-"

"I know... you want to do it for that girl right? Is she _really _that important to you? Are you going to kill her?" The man stood stock-still. She could almost read what was going through his mind. She. Reika. He wanted to be with her. He wanted to be with her so much. ...It was the mangekkyou, wasn't it?

That was what he was talking about, wasn't it? Taka... was this really her father? She couldn't see his face but... it had to be... right? He was planning to- Oh god... This was all too confusing.

"I'm not going to kill anyone, Itachi," said the father. Yuki let out a little gasp of relief, and to her shock the man that the little Itachi had been talking to turned around suddenly.

"Uncle?"

"Hm... it's nothing. It was probably just the wind."

"Are you going away, Uncle? With that Hyuuga then?"

"Yes."

"But-"

"I'm sorry, Itachi. I can't stay. I want to be with her. I need to. If these people here can't understand that, then there's no possibility of my staying. Until they can accept us..."

"Then can I go with you?"

"No! No, Itachi, you stay here. ...You're going to have a little brother, aren't you? Your brother will need you here, so take good care of him." Yuki felt odd as she let her heart feel some sympathy for the young Itachi. He looked like an abandoned pet. "Once they can understand... that I love her, I'll come right back. I'll be back and we can all be together again."

"Promise?"

"Yes, I promise. Until then, be strong."

"_Be strong_."

"_Be strong_." The two words echoed as the images around her made a fast-forward. Itachi growing up, training. Training... and even more training. Until it stopped... and he looked exactly like the last she saw him. Adult. Angry. Definitely pissed off.

"Did you enjoy walking through my memories?" He was talking to her. It took her a moment to fully realise that who she was looking at was really talking to her.

"Memories?" she echoed. The whole ordeal had shaken her and she was basically confused right then. There were so many pieces that didn't seem to fit.

"This is rather impressive," he said, unblinking. "You managed to repel the mangekkyou."

"That was the plan," she said, still a little shaken. She had planned to do something as soon as they were trapped in that barrier... she planned to end everything... now... exactly what was it that she was going to do. Her hands were in position... Did her father really plan to kill his closest... friend? ...Was it for the mangekkyou? Did Itachi tell her the truth?

"You slipped into my mind, it seems," Itachi was saying, but she was still feeling a little numb. "What? Were you surprised to find out the truth... _Yuki-chan?_" Her eyes snapped up angrily. Itachi smirked. "Ah... maybe you haven't seen enough of it yet. Did you get to see the part where Taka took Shisui's life-"

"Why are you so happy?" she nearly shrieked. She didn't need any more of his talk to add to the confusion.

"I don't think you understand your position, _Yuki-chan_. You're trapped inside _my_ mind." She gritted her teeth and then looked down to her hands. The seal. What was it? Quickly... "I don't think there's any way to escape this place... Even me." Yuki's eyes snapped up at the confession. He smirked. "Surprised? I don't mind being trapped in this hell. As long as I can I can drag you down with me." His gaze turned down to the movements she was making with her hands. His eyes narrowed. "No jutsus will work here." There was that again. That tense moment of silence where neither spoke and all they could hear was each other breathing. "See? Nothing happened."

"No," Yuki said defiantly. "I'm pretty sure something did." Their surroundings shifted. Colours went spinning around them once more... and it slowed down to almost a stop to show them a bird's eye view of the events that only just happened in real time. They were both suspended in the air, and knew that neither were part of this illusion - and so watched intently at what was happening.

Indeed it was exactly what had happened earlier on, only instead of real-time as the previous memories Yuki had encountered, this was going at a slower pace.

"Why are we here?" she heard Itachi mutter under his breath. She glanced sideways, only to find him watching at the scene before them intently.

"Why aren't you trying to kill me?" Itachi looked at her in surprise at her sudden remark. Yuki looked like she was surprised at herself as well.

"It is my choice," he said stoicly, going back to his indifferent posture. "And I would rather make you suffer. You are trapped in my territory after all - I could do anything I want to you."

"...For what purpose?"

"Don't you know?" That was a first. That was definitely the first time Yuki had seen Itachi look befuddled. ...And she was suddenly reminded that she'd only just seen his younger self only minutes earlier. ...Did his remark have anything to do with her having seen through his memories? ...This was too confusing.

She wilfully turned her head back so she could view the scene again. If she was right... then it should happen any time now. She watched closely as she saw herself put a barrier around Itachi and herself. Itachi looked a lot interested at that too. The Yuki they were watching stopped for second, and then raised her head.

Suddenly the Itachi that was near her grabbed her by the neck.

"I've had enough. What did you do?" he snarled. The quickness of his movement stumped her as she stared at him wide-eyed, trying to make sense of all the confusion.

"Let me go," she said, bringing her hands up and tried to claw his hands off her throat. His grip tightened.

"What did you do?" he demanded. All of a sudden there was a weird hissing sound, that drew their attention back to the scene below them. There was a kind of white fog that started off from the ground and quickly blew up inside the barrier - enveloping both their bodies in the mist. "What-"

"I released the Fuyu Seishin," she said, smiling - though with difficulty.

"What!" he growled, tightening his grip even more.

"Your body will die, Itachi. Your spiritual presence too. Don't look surprised. I know Akatsuki has millions of ways of protecting the safety of their members."

"I know about your Seishin too. If you're own spiritual presence isn't inside your own body - you... you'll die too."

"I know," she said. "Watch..." The colours were spinning again. The whole scene that they were just watching dissolved into it. White mist. It was that mist again. "To make sure that you are completely trapped inside your body whilst the Seishin eats your physical presence, I hoped to be able to enter your mind... so I could lock you in myself." He looked at her in disbelief.

"You... knew that this would happen?"

"It was a calculated risk. ...Let me go, Itachi. There's no use of killing me now, we'll both die at the same time anyway," she said as she scratched his arm one last time, forcing him to finally let go. The white mist was thickening.

"You..." he looked even more surprised. And then suddenly- pain shot up both their arms.

"Actually," Yuki said breathlessly as the pain subsided for a moment. "I hoped that the Seishin would spare me, even though I'm not in my own body. Now it seems..."

"This... self-destructiveness," she heard Itachi mutter through the white fog. It was so thick now, and it was thickening still, and the pain... that numbing pain was eating her up inch by inch. "You must've... gotten it from your father. ...Cruel to the very end." Itachi? Where was he?

What about her dad? The white was turning an odd shade of grey now.

She didn't think that...

Even though she knew she was taking a big risk encountering Itachi like this...

Even though... she knew she was sacrificing herself... making it so Itachi ended like this...

What about... her father?

It can't end like this...

What... about...

Sasuke...

**"What **happened?" Sasuke yelled as he watched, mortified, as the barrier that Yuki constructed failed after only been activated for a split second. There was a flash of white and then suddenly both the bodies of Itachi and Yuki fell, limp, to the ground. "Yuki!"

"Neji! Get him!" Shikamaru yelled as he saw Sasuke jump from his position to where the bodies were. Neji immediately followed his jump and took a hold of him before he could disturb the bodies.

"Let go! What happened! Why aren't they moving?" At his uncharacteristic display of anxiety everything quietened. Shikamaru quickly moved beside the bodies and checked Itachi first.

"He's frozen!" Shikamaru said, half in surprise. He looked up, wide-eyed, at Neji, who returned it with a nod. It happened, didn't it? What did she do? Their eyes only met for- it wasn't even a second! Shikamaru quickly shifted from that side to Yuki's and checked her pulse. "...She's frozen too."


	26. My Eyes Can Still See You

**Disclaimer: **Naruto belongs to Kishimoto Masashi, contents of the following text only serve entertainment purposes.

**AN:** This came out later than I expected, but at least it's here now! Cheers people, thanks so much for having followed the story! There'll be one more chapter after this - but it won't be about SasuYuki. It's to properly wrap things up... I really do hope you've enjoyed reading this story. Thanks all.

**Chapter: My Eyes Can Still See You**

At the moment Tsunade and Jiraiya were by themselves, slowly trying to drink each other under the table. The events that had happened the past few weeks had taken their toll and now they finally got the chance to vent it all out this night.

"But you know, I can't believe they just left after that incident," Jiraiya was saying as he downed another shot.

"Maybe that was a good thing," Tsunade muttered. Her face was flushed and she was definitely feeling a little tipsy. "The Akatsuki really do consist of monsters." She was referring to the awesome displays she'd witnessed during the battles. ...Definitely like monsters. "It can't be helped anyway, Jiraiya - since we're not really part of their plans... Tch. Somehow I feel insulted at that."

"It can't be helped," Jiraiya repeated. He frowned at his next shot. "The Akatsuki played us for fools. I really thought that they wanted to destroy the village... Turned out that they were just making a ruckus so they could lure out Sasuke and Yuki to Itachi. ...We're lucky they didn't destroy too much of the town."

"Lucky," repeated Tsunade with an unladylike snort.

"But... I don't get it, Tsunade."

"Hm?"

"We went through all that trouble... -if we'd terminated that brat Uchiha Itachi earlier, none of this would've happened." Tsunade let down her glass with a loud thunk, making Jiraiya jerk his head up in surprise - it was a rather unexpected movement.

"Jiraiya," she began heavily. "We never had any reason to terminate Itachi in the first place..." She raised her head up and rubbed her neck as though it was painful. "The only reason I can think of for terminating him is for deserting the village. And then joining Akatsuki - both reasons too stupid beyond words for such a punishment. It would've been better if we could turn him back to be our ally."

"You're drunk," Jiraiya sneered playfully. "You're forgetting that incident..." The older woman cast a careful eye at him as he leaned back against the bench. "That massacre... your memory must be getting really bad if you can't even remember that, you old bag." Tsunade hissed at him good-naturedly, and then turned sullen.

"Uchiha Itachi... wasn't responsible for that massacre. He was framed... Although I can't deny that he did kill someone that night... It wasn't... All that time... At first... we thought that it was him who did it... but it wasn't..." Tsunade sunk her face down to her hands in her frustration.

"What are you talking about, old hag? Even Sasuke could testify that it was Itachi who-"

"Then why did the Third leave instructions to let him live?" Tsunade challenged. Jiraiya shut his mouth and watched her carefully. "Itachi... at that time... was innocent."

"Then why... all this time... why haven't I known of it?" Jiraiya demanded.

"The Third was the only one who knew this... he left his final notices behind the plaque of the Fourth on the wall of my office. Tch. It was sure _lucky _that I found it."

"So... if you know Itachi didn't commit genocide," Jiraiya began, lowering his voice. "Then who did?"

"It was... that man..." Tsunade said mysteriously. "We all thought he was already dead at that time."

"Jeez. You're not making any sense again," Jiraiya replied irritably.

"He came back," Tsunade continued, ignoring his comment. "One day he just came back. Killed of the Uchihas and made it look as if Itachi did it. The next time he appeared... he killed off all of them."

"What kind of grudge does he have against them?"

"Apparently he thought that the Uchihas had ordered to kill his child. He didn't know... that all this time she's been alive." The two went silent after that. Jiraiya was suddenly sporting the same sullen look that Tsunade had on her face.

"Assuming that I know whom you're talking about... then what happened to his wife?"

"Dead," she answered shortly. Tsunade sunk further into the table.

"And that man?"

"Itachi... disposed him, I suppose. We never found the body."

"Did Itachi know about... his daughter?"

"Why do you think he'd been after her?" Jiraiya downed another shot of sake and grumbled.

"And Sasuke?"

"It must hurt to have one of your most trusted think that badly of you," Tsunade said. Her eyes were glazed over. It was clear that she was beyond her senses right now. Jiraiya watched her carefully... the old woman could lie rather well, but when she was in this state she could answer any question truthfully... so he let his guard down and allowed himself to be soaked in the presence of the newly found knowledge. "Itachi... probably wanted Sasuke to grow up hating him enough to kill him. Itachi probably despised himself... remember when he was young? He was such a sensitive boy. He really looked up to _that man_. And then... after killing him with his own hands... he probably couldn't take it anymore."

"I don't get it," Jiraiya grumbled loudly. "This is too complicated." Tsunade smirked and then chuckled.

"I guess... like that stupid saying goes. Some things are better off unknown. Or unsaid, mind you, so you better not go off tattling," she warned. "Now that I've told you all I know it, lets go pay that girl a visit. It's been a while since."

"Sasuke should be there," Jiraiya said.

"He always is. That boy really should get some sleep once in a while."

"Who can blame him? After all that happened... and her eyes... Even if she does manage to get out of her coma, I doubt she could ever use her eyes again. Tch. Sacrificing her eyes... and her consciousness just to get the objective completed... That's definitely what that silly girl would do even if she'd been given a second choice." Tsunade bellowed in her frustration, making Jiraiya jump and nearly topple the table. "Hey, do you think they'll let us visit drunk?" she asked, looking up at him with a weird grin.

"Well, I'm not drunk you old hag," Jiraiya taunted.

"Take that back you old geezer," Tsunade said as she stood up as well and then leaned on Jiraiya for support. The alcohol was starting to get to her head. "Jiraiya... we're getting too old 'fer this."

**It** had been two years since. The local hospital couldn't keep her for too long so Sasuke had her brought to his home and then hired a nurse to assist him in looking after her body. She was alive. Yuki was alive, but she wasn't moving. It was enough for him to keep some hope that one day... one day, she'd come back.

"Good morning Yuki," he said to her still body as he replaced the wilted flowers on the window sill with fresh ones. It was an everyday ritual for him to greet her in the morning before he would begin with the day's missions. Every day. "It looks like rain today. The wind is bringing some dark clouds over. It's pretty cold out so I'll be shutting all the windows. I asked the nurse to put an extra blanket on you.

"I have some news... I'll be away for some time. The Hokage says it's about time I continue with long missions. ...But I really don't want to leave your side for long, Yuki." Sasuke bit his lip as he settled on the chair next to the bed. She was lying so still... Could she hear him even the slightest bit? ...He brought his head down to the bed and stared at her face from sideways. That sleeping, almost lifeless form... "Yuki, I've changed, haven't I? I... don't usually talk so much. I can't convey my feelings properly like most people can... but now..." He bit his lip harder as he tried to hold back the tears as it stung his eyes.

"Strange... isn't it? I can smile really well now; I even don't fight much with Naruto anymore. Kakashi-sensei's been a pain but he looks relieved whenever he sees me out of the house. It kind of reminds me of the time when my family was still alive... I know they're just worried about me," Sasuke mumbled into the bed cloth. "Sometimes... I can even remember how happy I used to be with my family..." He traced her hand gently up and down several times, finally covering it with his own. "Wake up soon okay?" he said abruptly when he couldn't take in anymore. Seeing Yuki everyday was a relief for him, but looking at her still figure for too long always drove him mad. "I'll be going now." He stopped at the doorway and made an about-face. He kissed her forehead whispered, "I'll miss you," in her ear. Sadness clearly written all over his face, he traced his fingers over the bandage that covered her eyes. Abruptly, he left the room.

The nurse, who was coincidently hovering near the doorway when he was talking to her, found the situation quite sad. According to Shizune - Tsunade's assistant who had personally briefed her - the Hokage herself didn't think that there was any chance she would wake. And even if she did... there'd be severe psychological damage done. Not to mention... well Tsunade wasn't exactly sure yet, but it looks as though that Yuki's eyes had gone all wrong. Even if she did wake up... there was no way she could get her eyes to function properly. Even if she could see.

The wind was blowing really hard outside. Sasuke's predictions looked to be coming true. The nurse swiveled her head around when she heard the front door slam shut. Sasuke must have left. Biting her lower lip, she continued with her duties and was about to get started with the patient's dose of physiotherapy (something Tsunade said to do) when an aggravated knocking started on the front door.

Who could that be?

Quickly she ran down to open the front door. To her surprise there was a huge amount of sand getting in through the cracks.

"Open." She head a soft mutter as she watched on, amazed, the sand climbing up the door and making its way to the handle. It opened with a loud bang - and she recognized the visitor.

"Kazekage-sama!"

"Where's her body?"

_"This... is really amazing."_

_"Yeah... I'd been separated from my body long enough; it never occurred to me that I could ask the Fuyu Seishin to call you here. I can't move too far away from my body somehow - else I would've looked for you earlier. So for this thing... In theory I thought that this was possible... I mean, that's why we're called the Seishin right?"_

_"...Lucky for you that they haven't terminated your body yet."_

_"I have no worries about that. I asked Sasuke..."_

_"You're either really stupid or really brilliant, you know that?"_

_"Eh? Gaara, did you just compliment me?"_

_"Quit it. So what happened to the Fuyu Seishin?"_

_"I don't know... after keeping me company for so long... She disappeared right after telling me that you'd agreed to come."_

_"She?"_

_"Yeah. You didn't know that Seishin have genders too did you?"_

_"This... is really amazing."_

_"Um... yeah, you said that earlier. So... you're going to help me right?"_

_"What's in it for me?"_

_"Gaara!"_

_"Yeah, fine. Whatever. I need to do some research first."_

_"Hey, Gaara."_

_"What now?"_

_"Thanks."_

_"...No problem."_

_Sasuke... I'll be_ _back soon._

**He'd** been away longer than intended. The eight long months passed even faster than he could blink - every day he'd work himself to the edges of his limits just so he could get a dreamless night's sleep. It was tough trying not to think of home. It was tough trying to carry out his duties as before. Because... unlike before... he now had a reason to return. He had someone to return to... even if. ...Just because she still hadn't woken up- anyway, he'd said that he'd wait after all.

That was why she asked him to wait... right?

She was definitely going to wake up one day... right?

Anguish tore his mind and body apart day by day. Every minute. Every second... It was hard to not think of her.

...There was something different about the air in the village now. Sasuke turned his head left and right, looking for any visible sign of that change, all the time keeping his face expressionless. Come to think of it... Tsunade-sama looked rather cheerful when he dropped his mission report. She had that cheeky, knowing grin on her face... Now that he noticed it- ... almost everyone had that... that look. That knowing look.

Sasuke felt slightly confused and knocked off balance.

Yes. Now that he'd noticed it... he actually had expected at least either Kakashi-sensei, Naruto or Sakura to meet up with him when he arrived. They were annoyingly predictable that way, but over the past year (before the long mission) he'd actually grown to appreciate their presence. So... just where were they now?

He kept walking on, wanting to get home as soon as possible, check up on Yuki, get some rest and then demand an explanation for this weird attitude towards him. Sasuke's pace quickened with each step he took, until he was practically jogging back. He wondered briefly if Naruto had something to do with this... oddity. But to have Tsunade-sama in on it too... He shook his head physically as if it could shake the increasing discomfort of his curiosity.

As he neared his house he heard some aggravated shouts mixed with laughter... annoyance... and some wails of pain. That had to be... that could only be Naruto! What was he doing there? Sakura and Kakashi-sensei had to be with him too- it could only be them. Feeling a nerve pop in his head, he stomped up the steps to his home feeling very annoyed that they'd barged in without giving him prior notice. Sure he'd definitely given them all the green light to stop by as they wished (even when he wasn't around) but- this atmosphere! It was like they were having a party!

"Ah! Sasuke-sama, you're back!" the nurse exclaimed as she opened to door for him. He gave her a curt nod and entered. "I'm so sorry for the noise- I really should have kept a stricter eye on them. Shall I ask them to leave...?"

"They can leave whenever they want," he answered. "Just tell them to keep quiet- I'm going to take a break."

"Ah, yes, of course, you must be tired," she murmured. She watched quietly as Sasuke took his shoes off grumpily and put on the house slippers. "Um... Sasuke-sama..."

"Yeah?"

"You're... happy aren't you?" she asked uncertainly. He looked at her, a little befuddled. "Ah, never mind. I'll just go and let them know that you're back."

"Don't." Sasuke advance two steps before he decided to stop and turn around. He frowned, a gesture to show that he was thinking deeply, as he looked back at the nurse. "Why would there be any need to?" It was the nurse's turn to look befuddled. Suddenly Sasuke thought that maybe she could reveal the mystery to him. ...Why was everyone acting so weird?

"_Ah!_ Sasuke! You're finally back!" Naruto caught him in surprise by the shoulders and roughly shook him. "You jerk! Just how long were you planning to stay away, huh!"

"What are you talking about?" Sasuke snarled back automatically as he freed himself. Naruto looked speechless for a moment and then suddenly started on one of his typical Sasuke-you're-such-an-asshole tirades.

"Sasuke-kun!" A pink-haired person suddenly popped up in front of him - Sakura. "I thought you would've come by sooner! We've been waiting for you to come back for so long!" she exclaimed cheerfully. Sasuke sighed heavily and started moving his legs again. Right foot. Left foot. If he could just reach the stairs... maybe he could lose them by telling them that he wanted to rest a bit. ...And he really did want to have some rest.

"Oh? What's the occasion?" he responded dully. He saw Sakura stop in her tracks just as soon as the words came out of his mouth. He stopped walking and turned to them in exasperation. One. Two. Three. Three people were staring at him with equally confused looks on their faces.

"Um... Sasuke-sama... Did you know that... the Kazekage was here... until a few months ago?" asked the nurse's attention. Now that caught his attention.

"Oh? Was there anything he wanted?" Suddenly several nerves popped up in his temple. "Will you stop looking at me with that look and tell me whatever it is you seem to think I already know!"

"My my, what a temper," said the cool voice of his instructor. Sasuke turned on his heel to face him. "You really didn't know?" Sasuke glared at him suspiciously and nodded carefully. Kakashi looked over to the people who were behind him and sighed. "I can't believe this- ...maybe our messages got mixed up somehow." Kakashi looked at Sasuke carefully and then slowly nodded to himself. He looked over to the other three and said, "Maybe you guys could..." He didn't need to finish his sentence and the other three were already making their way out of the house.

"Why are they-?"

"Sasuke-kun," Kakashi said. The two looked at each other silently.

"Yeah?"

"The Kazekage was here a couple of months ago."

"So it seems." Kakashi grinned at him - well, it looked like a grin, and then took him by the shoulder and started pushing and pulling him, making him walk where he wanted him to.

"He said that he came because of the request of a spirit." A spirit? "The Fuyu Seishin? You remember that?"

"That... was the spirit that was sealed in Yuki's body. Come off it Kakashi-sensei, just say it, whatever it is."

"Nah. If you faint here-"

"I don't faint."

"If you get a heart attack-"

"Kakashi-sensei, if this is just another one of your-"

"He had to seal a Seishin in Yuki's body." That definitely grabbed his attention. Sasuke stopped walking so suddenly it nearly tripped them both over. "Watch it- Jeez..."

"What do you mean 'He had to seal a Seishin-" Sasuke growled as he turned around and grabbed his former instructor by the collar.

"Whoa- relax. It wasn't anything bad or anything... I mean-"

"Where is she?" he demanded. "How can you seal something like the Fuyu Seishin back into her body without-"

"Sasuke...?" All movement stopped at the whisper. Sasuke loosed his grip on Kakashi and whipped his head around - eyes wide in desperation. That voice... "Sasuke..." Yuki! That was definitely Yuki! Left- right... it sounded like it came from just around that corner. Without him consciously realizing it, his feet brought him to that corner in an instant.

And there she was...

"Hey..." He could hardly register what he was seeing into his mind. There she was, standing near the doorway of the living room, both hands firmly on the wall. Bandages around her eyes... God, why was it so hard to swallow? Was he even breathing? "Sasuke..." Yuki had a little smile on the corner of her lips as she pulled her hand away from the wall and extended it to the doorway. Sasuke watched on as she slowly made her way to him... She couldn't see. She couldn't _see_.

"Yuki-chan, Sasuke-kun," said Kakashi's gentle voice. "I'll leave you guys alone okay?"

"Sure," Yuki chirped, although the volume of her voice very low. "Thanks for coming to visit, Kakashi-niichan." The older brother shuffled off quietly, and Sasuke was still standing stock-still, almost like he was petrified.

"Sasuke?" Yuki asked, a little worried. One of her hands was holding on to the corner wall and the other outstretched - just of out reach from Sasuke's shoulder. "...Sasuke are you mad?" she asked unsurely. He just couldn't believe his eyes. He blinked several times and then found himself raising his own hand to meet with her. Their fingers touched slightly and Yuki took it as a cue and spun their finger together while letting go of the corner wall and then stepping closer to him. But she didn't go any further than that.

"You're... awake..." he said as he finally regained some of his vocal senses.

"Yeah," she said, giving him a brilliant smile. But it wasn't the same. It was not the same. Her eyes... Unconsciously, he lifted his other hand to trace the bandages. Yuki smiled again and put her other hand over it.

"...How...?"

"Gaara sealed me back into my body," she said. She said so simply - as if it was the most natural thing in the world, and nothing to get all worked up about, but Sasuke couldn't help but wince. "I know it's... really weird..." Slowly she guided their hands that were previously suspended in the air down to where the seal was - right above her left hip bone, around the appendix area. "Right there. I guess they were right in calling us 'Seishin', huh?" She giggled lightly. "When I unsealed the Fuyu Seishin over two years ago... I accidentally unsealed myself too... That's just stupid really, but... it saved my life." She smiled gently when she didn't receive any response from him. What could she have expected anyway?

Slowly she guided her arms around him and pulled herself into his warmth - holding him in a tight embrace, tucking her head just under his chin. She chuckled as she felt his arms awkwardly go around her as well. "I never left, Sasuke. I was always here... I remember everything you said to me... I remember you saying that you'd be gone for quite a while... but eight months, Sasuke."

"Sorry," he choked. "I'm sorry," he whispered, burying his face in her hair. Yuki could only smile gently and cling to him as they allowed themselves to linger in that special moment.

"Thanks for waiting for me."

**The** moon found them still clinging to each other in the middle of the night, hardly an inch from the spot where they were just that afternoon. The only change was that they were sitting side by side on the floor, exchanging little stories here and there, never letting go of that hand. Never a moment without each other's presence.

"Hey Sasuke," she said, shifting to his side suddenly. Her head was turned up to him, making him think that she could actually see him - but the only thing that he could lock on were the numerous layers of bandages over her eyes. It was too different. "Do you still want me?" Sasuke was so surprised that he nearly slipped to the floor.

"Wh-wha-?"

"I'm saying..." her voice trailed off as she rubbed her forehead with her free hand. "I'm the one that... your brother, Sasuke. Me. I mean- It was me that killed-" He bit his lip for a second and then pulled her closer on impulse.

"Yeah. I still want you," he said next to her ear. "Are you going to run away again?" he challenged half-heartedly.

"Nah," she said, her tone becoming light as she giggled. "And I'm thinking that I should give up my job. That alright with you?"

"You're asking me for permission?" he replied with a question of his own. Truth be told he was still feeling too ecstatic to deny her anything. Whatever she wanted to do... he'd let her. Because she was finally here. Because... he knew, for sure, that he'd finally won her heart. Because she came back. To him.

"I'm asking for your opinion," she pouted. "I mean, it's going to take me a long time to get used to this," she said, pointing to her eyes. Sasuke's own expression saddened instantly. "Don't look so distressed, Sasuke. That's not like you. Besides, giving up my sight was a small price to pay."

"I'm not distressed," he grumbled, looking away. Suddenly his eyes widened and both his eyes snapped to her face. She grinned impishly. "...Did you really lose your sight?"

"Yup," she said, suddenly solemnly nodding. Then- in a flash all the bandages that were around her head were taken off and Yuki was slowly opening her eyes. "I wanted to wait until you got to see it first before I told anyone else." Sasuke watched out, his eyes fixed on her own as she opened them. White. Her eyes were... white? "I can only imagine what it looks like to you - but since even you look... shocked... ahaha-"

"It's not funny," he said flatly. She shrugged and continued grinning. "So can you-?"

"Yeah. I can see you," she said cheerfully. Sasuke frowned and stared at those blank eyes in an abundance of disbelief. "It's... not like normal sight I guess. I mean, I can even see through my own eyelids, so it's definitely not normal. I can see energy fields basically. Did you know that your chakra is this absolutely thrilling shade of blue- Sasuke?" Her expression showed confusion. There were tear marks going down the sides of his face. Yuki brought one trembling finger in-line with it. "Why are you crying?"

"Why are you?" he asked back as he brought his own hand to cup her face. It was then when she realized that she had tears flowing down her face as well. When did that start?

"I guess... I'm happy," she said, trying her best to smile. But this time she found that she couldn't. The warmth of his hand was breaking through her senses and forcing more and more tears to come.

"Hey Yuki," she heard him say. She looked up to his face in anticipation. She could 'see' him moving closer and closer until she was sure she felt him barely an inch away from her face. "I'm happy too."


	27. Extra: For the Loves of His Life

**AN:** I'm thinking some of you may be left wondering about Itachi. It's pretty late for a prologue-like chapter, but this serves as an explanation to the holes thatopened up in the last (previous)chapter. I guess with this, this fanfiction is complete. I leave the rest to your imagination.

**Extra Chapter: For the Loves of His Life**

Day after day. It was like his heart, mind, body and soul were slowly being crushed into irrepairable fragments. Always... always before... He'd always hoped that his uncle would return. That his uncle would come back, and once he did, they would return to normal. He'd hoped with all his being that once Uchiha Taka came back, they could return to being uncle and nephew... just like before. Just like how it'd always been before. Before _she_ came into the picture.

Why he had to go fall in love with her and then elope was beyond his thinking. Then again... he was too young then to understand. Now... well, at least now he knew why. He was _love _with her. _Love_. What a detestable thing. It was infatuation. Obsession. It was a sickness. How such a distinguished person like his uncle could be infected with such a thing was incomprehensible. It was the girl. That Hyuuga. That incorrigible whore. How dare she.

It was a good thing that she died in the battle against the Kyuubi. Yes. It was a good thing that she was dead. The trecherous thing managed to disillusion his once-respectable Uncle to this point. To this point...

Uchiha Taka was chained up to the walls of the secret dungeon under the Uchiha manor's premises. Many years ago he and Hyuuga Reika had left the village in order to elope. Everyone was against their marriage. Even himself. Even... himself. Then he came back with _her_, hoping to call some sort of truce between themselves and each of their families in order to help Konoha fight against the nine-tailed beast. Reika went to battle without even knowing that her dear husband... had actually been captured by the Uchiha. And to this day, remained as captive... perhaps never to walk free again.

If only he never met her. If only Taka never left... he wouldn't have been in this position. Why... Why did he choose that path? Everyone knew... everyone knew that all that welcomed them on that path... was despair. Destruction. Desperation.

That was spelt clearly in his eyes.

"Itachi... may I... have some water?" he asked hoarsely as he looked up to his nephew. Itachi looked at him quietly for a moment and then slowly nodded, turning around then to get a cup. "How... is everyone?"

"They're doing fine," Itachi answered tonelessly. He brought back a cup of cool water with him and then proceeded to feed it to his uncle. It was his turn to watch him that evening. Itachi then let the cup down and took a few steps away from him. Uncle and nephew locked their cold, unforgiving eyes towards each other. One day, perhaps 10 years before, those eyes used to be so warm. They used to show fondness towards each other. But now... they spelt nothing but some awkward form of cold hatred. "Why did you do it?"

"Why... do what?" Taka answered, bowing his head down. Itachi knew... there was a kind of cruel smile on his lips just then. For just part of a second... but he managed to catch it.

"You pretend to still be locked up. I know you're not bound by those chains," he replied coldly back. What happened to the fun times? What happened to the ever-doting uncle? The ever-lively nephew? Where had they gone to? "It's been too long. I know you've already found some way to escape."

"And what... dear youth, do you plan to do with that knowledge?" he asked mockingly, his entire attitude making an about-face. Itachi glared back at him. Never in his life. _Never _did he ever think that he would one day... that he would _today_... _hate _his uncle. That he would loathe the only person he'd ever looked up to in his life. Uchiha Taka.

"Why did you kill Shisui?" he asked, his tone now burning in cold anger.

"He... was so dear to me," Taka said with a bone-chilling chuckle. He raised his eyes to meet with the youth's. Itachi _knew _at that moment that Taka was crazed. Of all people... why Taka? "Do you know what happens to an Uchiha if they kill someone very dear to them?"

"The mangekkyou-" Itachi choked out in sudden revelation. "But your wife is dead."

"Yes... my Reika... of course, after her, the only other person I cared for was Shisui... and you, my dear nephew. But not to worry... I've no use for you anymore." Itachi watched on, nerves tingling in anxiety as Taka slowly raised himself to his feet. "Itachi... you and Shisui have been... kind enough to watch over me all these years... but the time... has come. I am strong enough." Taka looked at him with a sickeningly malicious grin on his face.

All of a sudden, the shackles that binded him snapped open and his hand immediately grabbed his throat and he managed to also pin him against the wall.

"Uncle!" he gasped as he wildly tried to free himself.

"My daughter... My wife might have died, Itachi... but I want my child. Where is she?"

"I don't know," Itachi choked. "We never found-"

"Lies!" Taka growled. "Your father must know it. Yes, he must. He's the clan's representative after all. If not him... then the elders..."

"What are you..."

"I'm going to kill them Itachi. I _will _kill them. Don't worry... I'll let you live. Someone has to continue the bloodline after all..."

"N-n... Don't... Uncle-" The last thing he saw was his uncle's fist that drove straight to his stomach - and then it all went dark.

What woke him up hours later was the stench of blood. It was floating down to the cell. Itachi immediately jumped to his feet and ran out. Taka couldn't have done what's he'd just said he was going to... but he did.

There was blood everywhere on the grounds. His cousins... aunts... uncles... grandaunts... granduncles... his distant relatives... They were all there... lying down in pools of their own blood. Children... even animals... His uncle was crazed! He'd turned into a madman! Itachi didn't even know what to think of anymore; his body began to move before his mind could even register the fact that all his relatives... were _dead_.

Everywhere... everywhere... footsteps. There was one.

Itachi jumped up to the highes thing he could see - a pole, and searched his entire surroundings for any survivors. He was sure he'd heard footsteps... It was Sasuke! As soon as he realised that his brother was still alive he left for the main house. If anything, Taka was surely there. If Sasuke was the only one that survived all this, he had to protect him... but his father surely wouldn't die against Taka, would he?

Itachi found his answer lying on the floor... twitching. His father was just stabbed... his mother... also dead. A shimmering silhouette caught his eye and immediately all his senses sharpened to find out what it was. Taka emerged from the shadows.

"They guarded the secret to the very end," he said listlessly. "Is keeping my daughter from me that important? Itachi? They've already killed my wife... and maybe... they killed my child too... didn't they? _Didn't you_, _Itachi_?" His last statement was roared out, and in a split second each drew out their weapons and lunged, thrusting the dangerous items towards each other. Itachi did it out of impulse. His body was acting on its own... but his target was met. His life taken in an instant.

The mortified youth watched on as the life slowly disappeared from his uncle's eyes. He became petrified as he felt his uncle's body slide down slowly to the floor... and then the door clicked open. Sasuke.

Oh god, what had he done? What had he _done_?

He'd killed his own uncle!

But- didn't Taka... Taka killed everyone he knew... Uncle Taka...

"Mom? Dad?" he heard a terrified squeak come out of his brothers voice.

Still shocked at the events, he slowly stepped into the light. The brothers silently looked at each other for some moments. At the first pangs of fear that he could see in his little brother's body, his mind finally connected with the situation. It went from A to Z in an instant, and he knew... he was the one to get the blame for this. Shisui... Mother... Father... he would be the one to blame... all because of... Taka.

"W-why did you..." his little brother was terrified. The terror only bit the situation into him harder. Sasuke was witness to him killing Taka. Young as he was, he would assume that he was responsible for all the other killings.

"I wanted test my strength," he heard himself say. That's right. Everything he'd cared for was now destroyed. Even Sasuke... his mind would never forget this horror. Everything... was destroyed.

He watched dully as Sasuke ran away... only to be tickled by a sudden thought.

He found Sasuke easily enough, catching him just outside on the main street towards the exit of that side of the village.

"Hate me, Sasuke. Live... and let that hate grow," he said. "Live to be strong enough to kill me." He told him about the secret of the mangekkyou. He knew he had it... and used it on Sasuke.

It was the last thing he could do. Sasuke had to live strong. He had to _live _for him. And until he got strong enough... not to become prey to anyone... andonce he was strong enough...then maybe Sasuke would give him peace by killing him. There was nothing left for him in this life. Damn that uncle.

Damn Uchiha Taka.

He destroyed everything.


End file.
